| public works’
mapping commission aimed to engage the local community of
Purfleet, to unlock the aspirations and values of the local
area.
public works conducted a series of over 80 local interviews
as part of their research to investigate the needs of an existing
community structure and enable a tailor-made and organic cultural
identity to be supported and allowed to grow. As local narratives
reveal, culture in Purfleet is temporary and changing. The
methods and processes of recording and archiving these events
become important in communicating them to locals and to outsiders.
It is clear that in Purfleet culture is private and only
through entering peoples’ homes does one start to see
the fragments revealed. The question is, should this remain
private, or should it become public and part of a collective
identity? If this private culture starts to feed into the
public realm, then it is apparent that Purfleet requires a
strategy to mediate between the private and the public. This
would cover both existing and new public spaces eg. physical
spaces to hold events, to billborads, newsletters, newspapers
and other mediums where events and their outcomes are communicated.
Click here to download
the final presentation of public works'
findings.
public works are a London-based practice of
artists and architects who work in the public realm. They
explore the relationships between informal and formal structures
and how they are developed to create long term strategies.
The key starting point of their approach is always 1:1 involvement
with the locals.
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