Skip to main content
ADS1: Pomp & Circumstance

Mathilda Durkin

I have spent my time whilst at the RCA researching and situating my projects within the socially and politically tense sites of housing estates in London. In 2020 I was awarded the RIBA West London Award for the project “(Re)Occupying the Heygate Estate” which aims to disrupt cyclical regeneration processes occurring since the 1900s, by identifying and recovering the richness of what existed before. 

The projects have materialised through the mediums of writing, video and hand drawing. Within these three methods a variety of experiences can be represented, evident within the dissertation project which explores the process of writing and particularly plurivocity, as a method of preservation of lost sites. Hand drawing allows for a familiarity and intimacy between illustrator and subject, which was integral when exploring demolished sites, and sites of significant history. Video and mixed media has also been a powerful tool in allowing those who have experienced the subjects explored, to speak for themselves and ground the project within current and historical affairs. 

I would be interested in continuing to explore how in-depth research into sites, preservation and a consistent awareness of society and humans role in architecture can assist my practice in the future. 

Degree Details

School of Architecture

ADS1: Pomp & Circumstance
Mathilda Durkin

The project initiated from a continued concern for the rate at which the demolition, displacement and regeneration of housing estates is occurring across London. The case study for this project was the South Acton Estate in West London, which is currently undergoing an extensive, phased regeneration scheme, which will rebrand the estate as ‘Acton Gardens.’

Having grown up in Ealing, I was already familiar with the site and the numerous stigmas and legacies attached to it. Further research into the estate uncovered a significant history of educational, racial, political and social stigmatisation, due to associations with the national front, negative media portrayal, and changing social and political policy.

In identifying and representing this history, the project recognises a particular relationship between negative public perception and the youth population present on the site. Schools and youth clubs are places where we place our most impressionable and vulnerable population, in the hope they will learn and reflect a positive version of the future. The project therefore aims to give space to this positive outlook, proposing a campus of school buildings, dispersed across the site.

Pubs on the South Acton Estate
Pubs on the South Acton Estate
Schools on the South Acton Estate
Schools on the South Acton Estate
Faraday School Closure
National Front Presence

The South Acton Estate is the largest social housing estate in Ealing. The estate has numerous associated stigmas as explored in the following videos.

The estate has also undergone multiple regeneration schemes, each with utopian aims for an integrated community and successful living environment. These schemes however have often been dictated by the socio-political climate of the time, and have less consideration for their existing population.

Medium:

Video
Schools Typologies
Schools Typologies
Secondary Schools 2020/21

The investigation into education facilities began by mapping numerous architecturally unique typologies. This process found that many of these reflected the socio political climate under which they were constructed. For example, many state funded schools contain open circulation and blocks divided by subject, this is due to the common belief that circulation spaces allow for anti social behaviour and bullying. 

Historical research into UK education provision revealed that many of the changes we have seen in secondary schools have been primarily socially driven, until recent years whereby economic crisis and the neoliberal market have rendered these facilities as a commodity. 

This process has resulted in scandals such as the forced academisation of schools, and the purchase of schools by private finance initiatives. Privatisation and decentralisation of many schools has revealed embedded issues within this process, such as cost cutting resulting in building failures, and lack of local governance resulting in an inadequate education. 

The design of these new schools also reflect this management, whereby historically secondary schools were constructed for the pupils, and now are constructed for capital, in a similar method to neoliberalist housing developments.

Medium:

Mixed
The Socio Political Sphere of Richard Rogers
The Socio Political Sphere of Richard Rogers
SASRAG
SASRAG

The schools place a particular emphasis in the formation of groups and the promotion of youth activism. In terms of design, this is accommodated by the provision of flexible spaces available for rent, the use of low impact materials which allow for appropriation and creative agency, and the introduction of protest typologies, such as staircases and public squares.

To accommodate this, the Pompidou Centre was studied due to its political presence in Paris. The Pompidou directly reflects the socio-political climate it was produced from, as well as in the architecture itself. This scheme was claimed as a ‘political weapon’, due to its active facade which was intended to broadcast exhibitions from around the world, and also due to its adjacent public square which was intended as a space for protest. 

The project proposes that the schools are established by the new radical action group, South Acton Schools Radical Action Group (SASRAG). This group procures schools through government funding and represents a wide variety of players involved in the procurement and operation of schools. These include teachers, parents and students, and also caretakers, pub staff, cleaners and local residents.

Medium:

Mixed
Podcast & Bus Stop
Podcast & Bus Stop — Two key interventions of the scheme are the new bus line and broadcasting room. The bus line runs between the buildings and the local area, and is available for both the community and school students. The broadcasting room is situated within the youth club, and was seen as essential as a large sum of the research for this project was conducted from a podcast established by young people who wanted to break down the stigmas attached to the estate, and save the previous youth club from being demolished.
Bollo Brook School Elevation
Bollo Brook School Elevation
Bollo Brook School Ground Floor Plan
Bollo Brook School Ground Floor Plan
Bollo Brook School First Floor Plan
Bollo Brook School First Floor Plan
North Bollo Elevation
North Bollo Elevation
Facade and stairs studies, across three buildings
Facade and stairs studies, across three buildings
South Bollo Elevation
South Bollo Elevation
South Bollo Ground Floor Plan
South Bollo Ground Floor Plan

The proposal consists of three buildings dispersed across the site. The main building at the centre of the site contains the general teaching spaces, a youth club and a pub. The North building contains a library, and both art and science studios. The South building contains a medical centre and similarly, both art and science studios.

The main building facade is stepped from ground level where the students enter, allowing a separation between public and private facilities within the building. The ground floor is open, allowing for cross circulation across the site. All buildings are timber framed with CLT panels, with external circulation and numerous terraces.


Medium:

Mixed
Masterplan Axo
Masterplan Axo
Design Portfolio & Research Book

Bollo Brook School is dispersed across the site of the South Acton Estate, proposing a re-integration of education and community facilities within the existing fabric of the estate. The dispersal of the facilities is seen as a radical move away from the privatised, highly secure and separate school typology which we can see within contemporary schools.

Subtle safety measures are taken, such as the partial pedestrianisation of a main road, clearly overlooked routes between buildings and landscaping interventions which clarify which is a school route and which is not.

The main block is situated at the epicentre of the site and includes numerous terraces on the northern facade. The north-south orientation avoids excessive glare during the school day whilst maintaining a visual connection across the scheme. 

Medium:

Ink Drawing