Tides and Times was an ambitious and exciting project celebrating the river Thames; exploring the historical, ecological, geographical and social elements of what makes the river so special and such an iconic image of London.
Roof light of the Amenity Space pod at Southwark Cathedral
Copyright: Steve Speller
The project introduced 19 primary school groups to 20 London cultural institutions on the river through a series of workshops with art and architecture professionals.
During these workshops the children created multimedia pieces of work with BBC 21CC|, including short films, podcasts and animations about their experience of these riverside attractions.
Three school groups worked with RIBA architects Alsop|, Urban Salon| and Amenity Space |to design three 'pods' to showcase the work. These installations were stationed at Somerset House, Southbank Centre and Southwark Cathedral until the Thames Festival (12th and 13th September).
A connecting route designed by another school group with SCABAL| architects united the three installations with key Thames-side stops along the way.
In October 2009, the Amenity Space pod was relocated from Southwark Cathedral to Weston Park Primary School, where it now has a permanent home in the playground.
See the galleries| of the design development for the three pods and the walking route.
The costruction of the pods was supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The BBC 21CC website displays the multi-media content| created by the children working with design professionals.
Special thanks to contributors:
FACIT| for building the Alsop pod at Somerset House, Price and Myers| for structural engineering, MLM| for Building Control advice and MLM Consulting Engineers, Designers Guild| for paint supply, UPM ProFi Deck|, Marshalls| for paving/ ballast supply, Lathams for cost price timber and Visual Solutions for print work.