London

In 1966, famed filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni traded the Italian sun for the urban violence of London to film his legendary film Blow-up. The film opens with a Land-Rover Series II on which a group of mimes are packed. The gang honks silently through the busy streets of London and through the inner grounds of Alison and Peter Smithson’s the economist building.

The opening scene is emblematic of Antonioni’s cinema but perhaps even more so of 1960s London. After the ravages of World War II, the city saw an opportunity to finally check the rapid, unplanned growth of the 19th century. The Greater London Plan by Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie was created and is perhaps best known for its progressive Green Belt. The city plan allowed developers to implement large-scale and visionary projects. The Barbican Estate, Alexandra Road Estate, Canary wharf and Wood Wharf on the Isle of Dogs or more recently the development of the King’s Cross area to name a few.

Historically, London is a polycentric city. It is a conglomeration of several villages around the city centre that merged with the advent of the railway network. It is not like many European cities where development evolves from the inside out. So we cannot simply think of London as one big metropolis with a centre and its suburbs. It is a network of smaller villages and more intimate city centres.

planopli builds on this and looks for the village within the city. A human scale that there is a constant desire for even in a metropolis of millions. We leave Norman Foster and David Chipperfield behind for a while and discover small-scale projects by young British architectural practices. We visit The Bleu Market Square and The Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary art by Assemble, The Garden Museum by Dow Jones Architects or still the Peveril Garden Community centre by Sanchez Benton architects. Neighbourhood projects where meeting and connecting are central, and where the city can unwind in all its awesomeness.

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