[for the] 99%
‘We are the 99%’ was a slogan made famous by the Occupy Movement in 2011. It refers to the increased concentration of income and wealth since the 1970s among the top 1% of income earners and net worth individuals in the United States and the UK. Inspired by this movement, this thesis project explores a dystopian scenario envisioning the potential consequences of the top 1% expanding their political, social, and economic influence to an extreme - ‘Plutopolis' - where extreme privatisation has resulted in the complete sell-off of government land and services to private entities.
Titled, ‘[for the] 99%’, it addresses the resulting class oppression and neoliberalism in London and explores how this has led to a loss of public space and impacted civil liberties. ‘Pseudo-public’ spaces are where public space is ostensibly owned by private entities who are able to impose secretive regulations and enforcement. Granary Square in King’s Cross exemplifies such a space, having gained media attention in recent years for its dystopian security measures, including facial recognition and over-policing.
Enabling the public redemption of London’s King’s Cross, the thesis explore the subversion of pseudo-public spaces through a radical masterplanning of informal design typologies. Within Plutopolis, the public gradually reclaims space from private hands through a series of protests and occupations.
The project investigates key themes of 'anarchitecture' and collective action. It explores informal architecture as a methods of development to subvert typical city-building methods and prioritise a highly sustainable DIY architecture. The design features a network of public spaces, communal amenities, and residences linked by passage territories to create vibrant new streets.
Echoing the themes from Henri Lefebvre’s ‘Right to the City’, this thesis aims to create genuinely open public spaces that foster joy and community building, challenging the corporatised landscape of the city.
