The Beautiful Everyday Journey
Built Environment Fellowship 2015
Ellen Hadden
Thomas Greenall
Roberta Marcaccio
Astrid Bois d’Enghien
Is it possible to talk of a ‘London approach’ to cycling? What are the characteristics of the London cycling experience that differentiate it from the experience in other urban centres, and can an understanding of these aspects help us to generate a uniquely London design strategy?
The DSDHA collaborators intend to address these questions through
their research while focusing on the notion of “The Beautiful Everyday
Journey”, with the aim to make cycling a more pleasurable and accessible
mode of transport, rather than a specialism.
As the city’s population continues to grow its infrastructure is
increasingly struggling to cope. It is now critical that we question
long-held assumptions about progress, mobility and organisation, and
promote a shift in attitudes towards the design, management and
integration of different modes of transport. It must be acknowledged
that moving goods, people and data in a city is not a mere logistical
exercise but also a psychological issue which has critical impact on our
intelligence, both as individuals and as a society.
To fully address the varied urban conditions across the city, our
research will initially focus on four London case studies: The transport
hub at Vauxhall, the privately-owned pedestrianised landscape of
Broadgate, the heritage neighbourhood of Somers Town and the medieval
street pattern of the West End. These case studies are intended to
capture some of the key challenges confronting the integration of
cycling infrastructure into London’s nodes.
Through an understanding of these conditions they intend to devise
and then test a series of design strategies for bringing infrastructures
together in a holistic public realm, which will contribute to the
creation of beautiful everyday journeys across London.
