Now, the place at the junction of two very different and challenging neighborhoods - bohemian, artistic Shoreditch and immigrant Brick Lane - makes a rather unnerving impression. According to the terms of the competition, the participants themselves could choose the purpose of the reconstructed brick building of the old station, which dates back to the 14th century. The main thing is that as a result a kind of "connecting link" appears, a space that helps to interact and communicate between two very different communities. The second wish of the organizers was the opportunity to implement the project presented for the competition in other areas of London.
The team of Dmytro Aranchii Architects chose the exuberant and colorful world of modern fashion as the main theme of the project, which is important for the residents of Shoreditch and interesting to almost everyone. The old brick building will remain practically intact. Workshops and classrooms will be located on its underground floor. You can get into them by a wide open staircase, ending with a stage space. At the same time, it serves as an open amphitheater, where you can hold a fashion show, organize a lecture or a movie show. To create such a versatile area, a small section of the wall of the old building had to be cut. The main, first, floor is occupied by a spacious room with a free plan, where young designers and small manufacturers can display and sell their products. This space is closely connected with two gardens - in front of the entrance and in the backyard.
The architects call the second part of the project “air islands”. The series of quadrangular platforms raised above the building on one support evokes many associations - from fragments of medieval vaults to water lily leaves and chanterelle mushrooms. The size of the platforms is about 6x6 meters, and there are a variety of recreation areas with benches, view terraces, fragments of landscaping - even a ping-pong table fits there. Moreover, the functional content of each can be easily changed. The height of these unexpected "mushrooms" gradually increases from the rear facade to the main one (but does not exceed the established limit of 9 m), while they are connected by metal modular ladders, so that, having climbed the spiral ramp at one end of the site, you can go through all the recreation areas and find yourself in one of the kindergartens. Structural supports are located so as not to harm the historical building. Only one “leg”, 70 cm in diameter, “grows” through the building: the architects cleverly equipped its inner part with a bench for trying on shoes.
