The Interactional High Street
How can the architectural composition of the High Street be repositioned to increase its performance being a resilient and social public space?
T.J.L. van Knegsel (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
R Cavallo – Mentor (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
A.S. Alkan – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
H.F. Eckardt – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Design of Constrution)
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Abstract
London is the product of hundreds of big and smaller cities and villages that collided, merged and blended during the course of time. Each of these places used to have its own Highstreet, the commercial and social heart of the settlement. Contemporary London now has 600 former High streets; scattered all over London’s perimeters. These Highstreets are without doubt diverse, but do share common characteristics, contemporary challenges and opportunities. Exploring these facets we might discover a new canvas for the London urbanist and architect to draw on; impacting London throughout. Highstreets are divers and most certainly every single one is different from the others. But it is possible to distinguish types. The connected high street chains many historical settlements that now form London its outer boroughs and connects them which the center of the city. These high streets have a dual character being both mobile and social/commercial centers for the city its boroughs. However, as London has grown to become the metropole as we know it, mobility increases to impede the social functionality of the connected high street. Decreasing mobility does not seem a reasonable solution. Rather, the imperfect edges, transitional areas and left-over pockets that typify high streets like the Tottenham high street can be used to reposition the high street making it a interactional and social public space.