The Concepts of the 'Camden Lock'

The space I chose to document for the first project was Camden Lock and Stables area

I chose this architecture for two reasons:

01 - is to do with the migration of people

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02 - is the idea of urban spaces becoming a stage for individual's lives

On top of that, it was and still is close, and I also am fascinated by how houses various nationalities and types of people whom all operate within the same space. Then you have tourists to add to this equation and it's this mixture of people that creates a temporal and dynamic combination of experiences and spaces.

I value this space for it's ability to retain a sense of permanence and solidity whilst also hosting very temporary forms of additional architecture and activity. It's this ability to adapt that draws similarities to the way in which people especially migrants may change and adapt their lives to suit the scenarios that we find ourselves in.

The scenarios in the Stables leads to stall owners establishing territories in which they construct architectures that form the platform for the act of trade to be performed in.

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So there's two levels of ongoing adaptation that occur simultaneously:

01 - Architectural Adaptation

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02 - Behavioural Adaptation

If you translate these to a city scaled context it follows the same principles demonstrated in migration to, and colonisation of landscapes, in particular urban landscapes. People group together establish themselves and begin to grow, develop and influence the cityscapes creating their own identities, communities and urban fabric.

For example in London there are several areas of the city which are inhabited by certain communities of various nationalities. There are large populations of Jewish in Golders Green and the surrounding areas. The chinese have also managed to establish a practice of creating replica urban environments of their homelands, such as Chinatowns that we find in many of our major cities today.