This first short project acts as a spring board for the year in that it immediately gets you thinking about place. The project requires you to tell the narrative of the CANAL picking up on specific character, atmosphere, history, people etc. Focus on what captures your imagination that only you see with your eyes. This three week project is a chance for you to show off your observation, narrative and presentation talents and for us to get to know you. You will learn a fundamental of architectural design: how to rapidly and poetically describe the site as it appears to you.
My initial impressions of the were a positive one. Walking alongside the canal I witnessed many activities being done. One would believe it to be an ideal place to take a dog for a walk, or go for a jog/run, bike, feed the wildlife. There are also many pubs around the area for social gatherings, which is the main source of energy along the site. My blind impressions were overall positive, the area had an almost cheerful and energetic feel to it. However, there is a much more disheartening narrative that many do not see, or choose to ignore. Upon close scrutiny and research I ultimately began regretting the beginning of my journey through this area.
The images below are from my second walk in the site and represent my true feelings of the site once I had visited it a second time and explored the areas which people don't see or choose to ignore.
During my second visit to the Nottingham Canal I began to notice things about the site that I had previously been unaware of. Things like the miserable living conditions of the wildlife in the area, the birds for example are an unwanted species of the site, this is evident in the fact that we have malevolently employed the use of ‘pigeon deterrent spikes’ on the platforms underneath the bridges. The images on the right describe the melancholic sights I saw at the site, we intrusively demolish the natural living habitats of the wildlife and then refuse to allow them to make their homes anywhere on the site, because it may be deemed unattractive? Although the historical uses of the canal had their advantages, today it has become merely a place of despondent animals and a rubbish dump for anyone passing through. Another thing I had noticed about the site, is an ironic separation of the canal from some of it’s water, a residential area that has created a wall and provided itself with a personal pond and fountain. The irony being that people believe that nature is aesthetically more appealing once they have been altered. Overall, my second impressions varied substantially from my initial impressions.
During my second visit to the Nottingham Canal I began to notice things about the site that I had previously been unaware of. Things like the miserable living conditions of the wildlife in the area, the birds for example are an unwanted species of the site, this is evident in the fact that we have malevolently employed the use of ‘pigeon deterrent spikes’ on the platforms underneath the bridges. The images on the right describe the melancholic sights I saw at the site, we intrusively demolish the natural living habitats of the wildlife and then refuse to allow them to make their homes anywhere on the site, because it may be deemed unattractive? Although the historical uses of the canal had their advantages, today it has become merely a place of despondent animals and a rubbish dump for anyone passing through. Another thing I had noticed about the site, is an ironic separation of the canal from some of it’s water, a residential area that has created a wall and provided itself with a personal pond and fountain. The irony being that people believe that nature is aesthetically more appealing once they have been altered. Overall, my second impressions varied substantially from my initial impressions.
Nottingham 19th Century History:
The information below will help me gain an idea of what the history of Nottingham consists of in terms of events that have caused a negative and melancholic atmosphere to be concerned about.
1800 Nottingham’s population was about 29,000.
1802 A fever ward was built at Nottingham General Hospital due to widespread infectious diseases such as typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis and cholera.
1812 The Nottingham Lunatic Asylum opened.
1818 A catastrophic explosion of a ton of gunpowder, that had been unloaded at the Wilford Street wharf, killed eight men and two boys and caused damage to most of the properties between the canal and Nottingham’s market place.
1831 Nottingham’s population was about 50,000.
1831 Nottingham Castle was destroyed by fire in the Reform Bill riots.
1832 330 people died during an outbreak of cholera, causing many deaths in the Narrow Marsh and Broad Marsh areas, which had some of the worst slums in Europe.
1844 A passenger train derailed at Wilford Road crossing, killing three people and injuring twenty-one.
1846 A new prison was built in Nottingham.
1857-59 The County Lunatic Asylum, also known as Dr Tate’s Asylum was built.
1880 The Borough of Nottingham Lunatic Asylum opened.
http://mumblingnerd.com/events-and-dates-in-nottinghams-history/19th-century-nottingham-1800-1899/
All of these events throughout the history of Nottingham are relevant to my theme of the site and will help in setting the mood and convincing the reader to share my impressions.
The information below will help me gain an idea of what the history of Nottingham consists of in terms of events that have caused a negative and melancholic atmosphere to be concerned about.
1800 Nottingham’s population was about 29,000.
1802 A fever ward was built at Nottingham General Hospital due to widespread infectious diseases such as typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis and cholera.
1812 The Nottingham Lunatic Asylum opened.
1818 A catastrophic explosion of a ton of gunpowder, that had been unloaded at the Wilford Street wharf, killed eight men and two boys and caused damage to most of the properties between the canal and Nottingham’s market place.
1831 Nottingham’s population was about 50,000.
1831 Nottingham Castle was destroyed by fire in the Reform Bill riots.
1832 330 people died during an outbreak of cholera, causing many deaths in the Narrow Marsh and Broad Marsh areas, which had some of the worst slums in Europe.
1844 A passenger train derailed at Wilford Road crossing, killing three people and injuring twenty-one.
1846 A new prison was built in Nottingham.
1857-59 The County Lunatic Asylum, also known as Dr Tate’s Asylum was built.
1880 The Borough of Nottingham Lunatic Asylum opened.
http://mumblingnerd.com/events-and-dates-in-nottinghams-history/19th-century-nottingham-1800-1899/
All of these events throughout the history of Nottingham are relevant to my theme of the site and will help in setting the mood and convincing the reader to share my impressions.
The images below are drawings using a variety of medias, done by the artist Eric Lacombe, who conveys an interesting theme in his drawings. They portray an unhappy and nihilistic feeling. This is relevant to the theme of my current project, and is also the feeling I wish to portray to other when they take the journey through the Nottingham Canal using my site book.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d4qDAnvAkw/UIWpqArW_mI/AAAAAAAAATY/RiGWnjXyR8I/s320/tumblr_lbkm55q4Gb1qbc
poro1_500.jpg
http://hywellhywelleternelpensees.h.y.pic.centerblog.net/thumbs_Eric-Lacombe-12.jpg
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/f4/8e/ab/f48eab0fdb6d3d4d45de6c30220c7c57.jpg
The above is a mash up of individual images, all combined to show one linear image that portrays the impressions of the artist. An element like this would be useful in my development process of portraying the feeling of melancholy. Perhaps to filter the images in black and white (like the collage above) would help the reader of my site book understand more accurately my impressions of the site.
Looking back through history, Nottingham is filled with events that invoke an atmosphere of melancholy. Throughout the 19th and early 20th Centuries Nottingham was ridden with disease. Also as the population of the city grew, the living spaces became uncomfortably compact as the population grew from 29,000 to 50,000 in a space of 31 years. At the time ‘The Enclosure Act’ was not in play, so the people were forced to live in such grievous conditions.
Melancholic spaces in architecture are described as being small, tight and cramped spaces, I believe the city of Nottingham in history is reminiscent of this. Other evidence of melancholic spaces can be found in the prison and the lunatic asylums.
Based on the evidence given and the reasoning of the melancholic spaces, defined through the layout of the city and the unforgivable conditions the people had to live in, combined with the abused wildlife and the human invasiveness in nature; it would be indefinitely accurate to conclude that this site is a site to be pessimistic about. If the history has taught me anything about Nottingham, it’s that the population will only grow, and the environment will diminish, this is the inevitable end of the Nottingham Canal.
Melancholic spaces in architecture are described as being small, tight and cramped spaces, I believe the city of Nottingham in history is reminiscent of this. Other evidence of melancholic spaces can be found in the prison and the lunatic asylums.
Based on the evidence given and the reasoning of the melancholic spaces, defined through the layout of the city and the unforgivable conditions the people had to live in, combined with the abused wildlife and the human invasiveness in nature; it would be indefinitely accurate to conclude that this site is a site to be pessimistic about. If the history has taught me anything about Nottingham, it’s that the population will only grow, and the environment will diminish, this is the inevitable end of the Nottingham Canal.