2014 - 2015

The Ghost in the Machine
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Ming Cherng Teong (2nd Year)

Between Stone and Shine: A New Legitimacy For London Liveries






This thesis is concerned with the lifespan of institutions and architecture and . It focuses on the “time immemorial” institutions The City of London and its London Liveries (guilds). The City of London is a city within a city. Its loyalty lies with the financial market that it supports; the “heart” of the city. It is its relationship to trade and the economy has enabled it to remain an island, politically, socially and economically. It is both separate yet complicit in the affect on our lives. The Worshipful Livery Companies, once regulators of trades and crafts but now no longer, define their role as “ charity, citizenship, commerce, comradeship and conviviality” but of all these words, only one suggests a non exclusivity to the public. A cross scan of their websites, suggest they all wish to appear “RELEVANT TO THE 21st CENTURY”. The 39 livery halls that sit physically ossified within the city have programmatically transformed into event hire spaces for the dominant functions of the city, meetings for gentlemen clubs, royalty, large energy corporations, and award ceremonies for bankers but still also afford the liveries their ceremonial “convivial” meetings. The guilds and their halls are both separate yet complicit in the governance of the city and their affect on our lives. The project reimagines and relocates their distant philanthropy and charity back into the City, suggesting a cluster of night schools to be hosted at a set of livery halls for five years at a time, with accommodation of 100 students provided within the City. Key access alterations to the buildings are necessary to facilitate the school and physically open up the closed livery halls to form new routes through the city. As once the lanes, streets and alleys physically facilitated the flow of money the access will bring forth a new network for knowledge.

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Find out more about  Ming’s topic with the research article ->


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