Zenia Josephine Andersen 

 

The design studio brief of Cinematic Commons is based around the relationship between public space and social conflict and design decisions made motivated by profits, not by people.  Our western ‘neo-capitalism’ has created numerous corporate super powers, these multi-national companies, now holding the power of governments, have transformed cities: they are no longer about people but mere representations of advanced capital at work. 

 

Through exploration of the foreign gaze of Mumbai and London, it was evident that certain particular problems were common subjects of concern - Inequality and underpriviledge, power and helplessness and the vast differences of cultures within one city – geographically as well as economically. 

Gazing south towards the city of London, Canary Wharfs glass-clad high-rises towering in the distance, it is evident that two very contrasting environments border; that of an underprivileged and overcrowded East End and the high-end, wealthy business district of ‘The City’. 

 

The architectural intervention was developed through the historical and social analysis of the specific area of Bethnal Green around the Weavers Fields Park, which was created in order to relieve over-crowding and lack of local open spaces, and the need for change and reinstitute jobs and opportunities for the locals residing in the area.