How do we engage more people in local democracy?
The project proposes that London’s City Hall become nomadic to better connect with the capital’s communities. By relocating to a new neighbourhood every 3-6 years, City Hall can embed itself in the city’s life and gain a deeper understanding of challenges to address politically. In the process, City Hall revitalises abandoned structures across the city, funding and kick-starting desired community functions that integrate with the urban fabric and establish a closer connection between politicians and people.
Historically, City Hall has relocated around London, but this has been infrequent and largely inconsequential to the organisation’s outreach and public engagement. This project turns this nomadic behaviour from minor, infrequent, and infrastructural to major, frequent, and socially beneficial.
Mapping the history of London's City Hall
Analysing the current City Halls
London's City Hall must become nomadic to better connect with the capital's communities.
Belief in institutions is shaking across the world’s democracies, and this insecurity is weakening the legitimacy and effectiveness of public policies and initiatives. For London’s City Hall to express its relation to the everyday lives of Londoners, the GLA needs a recalibration that focuses its activities on how to best work alongside the city’s communities and become an active part of public life in the city. When constantly receiving feedback from communities and developing from that feedback in tandem with those it serves, the institution can engender greater confidence and involvement in the city's political process.
Diagram of how City Hall, during its residency, will take up a large part of the on-site facilities that later are taken over by other functions.
—The Centre of Democracy is an Empty Place
Claude Lefort
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Concept: The enjoyable characteristics of a Coral Reef
The City Hall should not be a monolithic structure, seemingly impenetrable and singular. It should be like a coral reef—a place where different individuals move, meet, nurture community and enjoy life.
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The assembly hall
Even if City Hall moves around London, it will always need an assembly hall—a place to gather and discuss policy. The hall must feel accessible and friendly and establish a strong connection between the audience in the gallery and the politicians.
The current City Hall assembly hall at the Crystal, Royal Docks
Reimagining the assembly hall as a circle where the gallery becomes an extended assembly
Thinking about the imagined barrier
Designing a flexible assembly gallery
All public meetings the GLA hosted through 2022. No public meetings overlap, and so only one public assembly hall is needed and can be used for all meetings the public have access to.
Technical Thesis design
For my 5th-year Technical Thesis, I chose to design—in detail—a new assembly hall that could be taken apart, transported to the next site, and reassembled. Its multiple independent parts would allow it to be assembled between constraining walls. Below are examples of drawing sheets from the TS book, and photographs of the TS model.
Criticism and a new assembly model
After submitting the Technical Thesis in April, there were two months until the final design presentation. The final weeks of drawing up the technical thesis design had impressed upon me how overly complex it had ended up being, and so immediately following being awarded a High Pass for that design, I envisioned a simpler assembly hall that could more fluently fill any space where it was placed.
The canopy-based assembly hall
The canopies seek to absorb sound and create a feeling of togetherness
Flexibility of central configurations
Canopy design - technical functions
Canopy design - fit and use
Assembly hall for City Hall
Some items remain as traces after City Hall departs
Case Study: The Nomadic City Hall reprograms Edgware Road Police Station
Now, let’s imagine City Hall taking up residency in a location. We will start close to the centre of London, with the intention of moving further out over time as the nomadic system gains legitimacy in the population and to test how far out City Hall can move before it becomes too detached from the rest. Here, we see schematic changes to Paddington Green Police Station, currently scheduled for demolition, as City Hall takes up residency and converts the building into a community hub, library, and social housing.
Site concept and development
Resolution
Models at the AA Projects Review exhibition table
PR package including mock GLA policy document
Agenda for City Hall
Local rebranding announcing City Hall's presence in an area
Site model at the AA Projects Review exhibition table
Site model at the AA Projects Review exhibition table
The disused Paddington Green Police Station converted into City Hall, and later a community centre
The natural location for City Hall’s assembly hall in this building is centrally on-site, where it has the area to expand as far as it is required. We also see that the assembly room is not the only place to sit: There are various other indications of smaller and rivalling assemblies going on nearby. The canopies work to separate the zones and absorb sound between them if needed.
With City Hall in this central location, a major contrast to today’s Assembly Chamber is the deliberate absence of a hard partition glass wall and doors between the circulation space and the assembly’s chairs. This arrangement, although requiring more on-hand security personnel to ensure the safe running of events, will connect passersby to the events or discussions going on. Someone on the way to the library might swing in and listen to a discussion about Crossrail for 10 minutes because the boundary has become porous. If there is no event, people can easily sit down on the chairs with their laptop or a book, using the space as any other public space.
Ground floor plan during City Hall's residency
Sectional site model. 600 x 600 mm.
Assembly Hall, 09:30 in the morning.
Embedded in the community around Edgware Road, City Hall redevelops the disused police station into a resourceful library and space for community meetings and events.
When City Hall departs six years later, the site lives on in the hands of the community and local council as a valuable resource for new community life.
City Hall has converted the former Paddington Green Police Station from an inward-facing security institution to an inviting and central community node that brings people together.
