More about Studio 7

Jane Tankard, Julian Williams

semester 1 Project 1
Deployable lobbying space
Site: Parliament square, London

Inaccessible to all but the most determined, this apparently benign space is a physical and symbolic threshold between the sites of power and those who try to effect change.
Deployable space transforms the urban public realm; a community of temporary structures designed to act as an interface between radical environmental agencies, politicians, the media and the public.

semester 2 Project 2
People’s Parliament
site: Lower Marsh, Waterloo London SE1

Close to Parliament and transport links but outside the formal and socially policed nature of the British political and legal environment, Lower Marsh is a market street with a diverse community and a number of individually run ‘grass roots’ businesses
Our brief was to design a building or series of buildings that would be ‘home’ for 10 non-government organisations, often operated by a handful of committed individuals from front rooms or garden sheds The process of parliamentary lobbying and debate is beyond many of these charities’ reach.
Their work is sited outside of the media and political and legal systems that hold the power to effect real change in policy making.
The building will act as an interface with the public; a permanent base where NGOs and the community can meet, support and debate. The location will also enable easy access to Parliament and the lobbying process, which will be key to the future of many of the charities whose home will be here.