People’s Brick Company
Installation (2016)
Now Gallery
Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK

In the early 19th century Greenwich Peninsula it was primarily used as a brickfield site to facilitate local land development and the construction of the first brick buildings in the area. Through a simple combination of fire, mud and sweat, brick making was a cheap and hands-on method of creating beautiful architecture.

The project embraces its location and the huge construction work happening on the peninsula, with the design using the waste timber from the building works to create the drying rack and tables. The drying rack was designed to use no fixings in its construction; instead lap joints allowed each piece of timber to slot together. At the end of the project the rack was dismantled with the timber used to fire the bricks in a kiln - built by the brick themselves.

In a culture in which the production and origins of goods are becoming increasingly complex and exclusive the installation reminds us of the roots of our cities and in turn that architecture can be simple.