Following an initial investigation into the relationship between our perceived speed of time and our idea of home, a 1:1 device was made to intercept the fast london commute in vauxhall.
On the threshold between a slow and fast pace of life, the new cabmen’s shelter for Wilcox/Wandsworth Road intended to relay forgotten memories of the previous day’s commute back to commuters via overheard conversations between cabmen in the shelter. By remembering their forgotten time, the commuter may become aware of the local community (the cabmen included), and be able to make a meaningful connection that previously seemed elusive. The project served as a vehicle to test means of altering one’s perceived speed of time.
Centred around a car wash which acts as a driver for the architectural clockwork, a spatial narrative of stretching out time to the point of having ‘all the time in the world’ becomes the entrance to the shelter for the cabmen. This lazy sense of time naturally interrupts the commuter’s timeline. A language of oblique steel panelling reverberates the cabmen’s tactless conversations about customers through to the commuter’s waiting seats/spaces, which open slowly, increasing reverberation and enticing the commuter to stay longer and overhear their forgotten commute.
On the threshold between a slow and fast pace of life, the new cabmen’s shelter for Wilcox/Wandsworth Road intended to relay forgotten memories of the previous day’s commute back to commuters via overheard conversations between cabmen in the shelter. By remembering their forgotten time, the commuter may become aware of the local community (the cabmen included), and be able to make a meaningful connection that previously seemed elusive. The project served as a vehicle to test means of altering one’s perceived speed of time.
Centred around a car wash which acts as a driver for the architectural clockwork, a spatial narrative of stretching out time to the point of having ‘all the time in the world’ becomes the entrance to the shelter for the cabmen. This lazy sense of time naturally interrupts the commuter’s timeline. A language of oblique steel panelling reverberates the cabmen’s tactless conversations about customers through to the commuter’s waiting seats/spaces, which open slowly, increasing reverberation and enticing the commuter to stay longer and overhear their forgotten commute.
Semester 1 Year 3
Unit G: Toby Smith
Site Location: Wilcox Road, Vauxhall, London
Date: September - December 2018
Unit G: Toby Smith
Site Location: Wilcox Road, Vauxhall, London
Date: September - December 2018
How does time relate to gentrification?
Occupants of little portugal seemed to live at a different pace of life to their
London
neighbours.
Analysis of gaps in the commute
Using drawing and videography to uncover momentary lapses in attention.
Relaying forgotten time
The commuter’s fogotten time is relayed back to them in the form of tactless conversations, reverbering through the shelter. A xylophonic staircase stretches time like waiting for a kettle to boil with its ascending squeal.
Rinse
Steam condenses onto folded aluminium ‘gutters’, creating a weather system that washes the car. The car becomes physically connected to the building and is used as an experiential actor - like the ticking hand of a clock.
As the driver ascends the stairway, each step becomes physically longer and more exerting with height. A stream of water flows down the handrail they are using, giving them the uncanny sensation that they are heading upstream.
Steam condenses onto folded aluminium ‘gutters’, creating a weather system that washes the car. The car becomes physically connected to the building and is used as an experiential actor - like the ticking hand of a clock.
As the driver ascends the stairway, each step becomes physically longer and more exerting with height. A stream of water flows down the handrail they are using, giving them the uncanny sensation that they are heading upstream.
The Rank
Meanwhile, a commuter waits at the rank, purchasing a coffee to pass the time. Their attention caught my moving shadows above, they begin to hear voices. Listening in, their chair softly rotates backwards, sealing them inside and amplifying the sounds. The commuter listens closely as they realise it is the cabmen; talking about yesterday’s clients. Unable to remember their commute for re-assurance, they overhear an embarrassingly twisted, boastful story about them being told to the other taxi drivers, reverberating through the galvanised steel chambers of the shelter.
Meanwhile, a commuter waits at the rank, purchasing a coffee to pass the time. Their attention caught my moving shadows above, they begin to hear voices. Listening in, their chair softly rotates backwards, sealing them inside and amplifying the sounds. The commuter listens closely as they realise it is the cabmen; talking about yesterday’s clients. Unable to remember their commute for re-assurance, they overhear an embarrassingly twisted, boastful story about them being told to the other taxi drivers, reverberating through the galvanised steel chambers of the shelter.
The Taxi
On their next commute, they engage in careful conversation with the driver, closely monitoring their behaviour and observing the journey in great detail. Due to this, they began to notice what was previously elusive; the personality of the driver, their accent, the details of their small-talk.
The next morning, the commuter arrived early at the shelter to listen to theirs and other people’s forgotten commutes.
On their next commute, they engage in careful conversation with the driver, closely monitoring their behaviour and observing the journey in great detail. Due to this, they began to notice what was previously elusive; the personality of the driver, their accent, the details of their small-talk.
The next morning, the commuter arrived early at the shelter to listen to theirs and other people’s forgotten commutes.
Interjecting slow into fast
The ‘fast’ seats of the bus stop are used as a hinge for a comfortable seat, designed to disrupt the fast pace of the city.