Agora on the Green
Clerkenwell Design Week 2015
Collaboration: Article 25 / russ + henshaw / Scandinavian Business Seating
‘Agora on the Green’ is a dynamic temporary installation for Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 that sets out to revitalise and reanimate Clerkenwell Green and transform the forgotten space at its heart into a modern Agora; reminiscent of the public square’s rich and colourful past. The history of the Green is politically important, a once focal geographical point for protest gatherings and assembly ; an essential meeting place for all sections of society:
‘Towards sundown that modern Agora rang with the voices of orators, swarmed with listeners, with disputants, with mockers, with indifferent loungers’
The unique collaboration between architects russ + henshaw, RBM – a brand of Scandinavian Business Seating and Article 25 - the UK’s leading architectural aid charity, is unified by the concept of revitalisation and the idea that design can act as a catalyst for change.
A key concept behind the design of the RBM Noor chair is about vitalising space and relations. The definitions of ‘to vitalise’ are; to give life or to animate; to alter, to change or to modify, to cause a transformation. The humanitarian work of Article 25 brings about change and transformation in disaster and poverty stricken areas and brings strength and energy to vulnerable communities.
This narrative is realised as a continuous folding surface that engages and unifies the road locked site to form a seemingly endless table top punctuated with a kaleidoscope of RBM Noor chairs, providing the opportunity for communal gathering and defining a variety of interactive social spaces. The geometry of the constant surface twists, turns and elevates vertically to create gateways, arches, large public ‘dining rooms’ and smaller more intimate meeting spaces.
Gatherers at the Agora participate in the transformation of the site by modifying the surface appearance over the course of the festival, embracing a constant revitalisation of the space. The concept is that if each visitor contributes a little bit to the transformation process, the overall effect will be larger than the sum of its parts. This refers directly to the fact that the sum of each brick or donation to Article 25 creates complete projects that transform lives.
Clerkenwell Design Week 2015
Collaboration: Article 25 / russ + henshaw / Scandinavian Business Seating
‘Agora on the Green’ is a dynamic temporary installation for Clerkenwell Design Week 2015 that sets out to revitalise and reanimate Clerkenwell Green and transform the forgotten space at its heart into a modern Agora; reminiscent of the public square’s rich and colourful past. The history of the Green is politically important, a once focal geographical point for protest gatherings and assembly ; an essential meeting place for all sections of society:
‘Towards sundown that modern Agora rang with the voices of orators, swarmed with listeners, with disputants, with mockers, with indifferent loungers’
The unique collaboration between architects russ + henshaw, RBM – a brand of Scandinavian Business Seating and Article 25 - the UK’s leading architectural aid charity, is unified by the concept of revitalisation and the idea that design can act as a catalyst for change.
A key concept behind the design of the RBM Noor chair is about vitalising space and relations. The definitions of ‘to vitalise’ are; to give life or to animate; to alter, to change or to modify, to cause a transformation. The humanitarian work of Article 25 brings about change and transformation in disaster and poverty stricken areas and brings strength and energy to vulnerable communities.
This narrative is realised as a continuous folding surface that engages and unifies the road locked site to form a seemingly endless table top punctuated with a kaleidoscope of RBM Noor chairs, providing the opportunity for communal gathering and defining a variety of interactive social spaces. The geometry of the constant surface twists, turns and elevates vertically to create gateways, arches, large public ‘dining rooms’ and smaller more intimate meeting spaces.
Gatherers at the Agora participate in the transformation of the site by modifying the surface appearance over the course of the festival, embracing a constant revitalisation of the space. The concept is that if each visitor contributes a little bit to the transformation process, the overall effect will be larger than the sum of its parts. This refers directly to the fact that the sum of each brick or donation to Article 25 creates complete projects that transform lives.
