Unit G

Northern:Nights

Unit G focuses on developing and nourishing design skills through invention and experimentation to generate unique and highly specific propositions. The process is iterative, diverse, hybrid, digital and physical, embracing what feels "right" in search of the “particular”. Curiosity and debate are essential, Derrida, Pallasmaa, Barthes, Perec, and de Botton offer touchstone texts; film, art and architecture: sources of inspiration; each offering a diverse point of departure.

“The Grass is greener on the other side of the fence” or so they say, and through four projects and our field-trip to Norway, Unit G explored the nomads, intersections, stories, story-tellers, expectations, and memories of place, as catalysts for a narrative-driven architecture in Oxford and Trondheim (or Hastings).

1. Sou:Venir Personal artefact as a memory of somewhere (else)

2. Narrative:Section Hybrid story and drawing comprising a closely observed and intensively drawn site-section through Oxford and Trondheim (or Hastings)

3. Way:Station Roaming performer’s venue and travelling show, moving from Oxford to Trondheim (or Hastings)

4. Northern:Nights Destination and intersection of migratory routes (inn, hall, hostel) providing space for hospitality, performance, and accommodation, hosting seasonal travellers, shows, troubadours and story tellers

Each project tests and explores spatial and conceptual relationships between place, people, purpose and permanence; employing architecture for positive change, celebrating diversity, identity, exchange, and migration.

TUTORS: Toby Smith, Mike Halliwell, Justin Chapman, Matthew Bolton

Students: Murad Baylarov, Chris Brierley, Lois Britton, Holly Chadwick, Amy Cuthbertson, Hannah Fa, Hugo Florentin, Laura Gil, Emma Heritage, Lizzy Woomer, Hanna Zulhikam

Guest Critics: Jonathan Pile – Oval Partnership, Hannah Durham – Cullinan Studios, Maria Faraone – RIBA Studio, Naseem Alizadeh - Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism, Zanna Krzyzanowska

Collaborators: Steffen Wellinger – NTNU, Jorgen Tellefsen Relling – NTNU, Erik Hofsbro - NTNU, Nikolas Softing Roshol – NTNU

Thanks to: Vera Pahle

Hannah Fa - SouVenir - Capturing the Scent.jpg

Blood, Sweat, and Dears

Amy Cuthbertson

Exploring the Sami admiration and devotion to reindeer through their traditional folktale; The Lapp Creation Story. Located at the intersection of migratory routes and journeys, the story is applied to an invented reindeer abattoir/tannery in a derelict WW2 submarine bunker.

Amy_Cuthbertson_Blood Sweat and Deers_Long Section(2) - Small.jpg

Axo - Blood, Sweat, and Dears - Amy Cuthbertson

Meadiocre Poet Brewery

Chris Brierley

Transformation Venue

Emma Heritage

Trondheim is a place of pilgrimage for many music lovers, however, there is nowhere for aspiring musicians to hone their craft. I proposed an amateur musician performance space that transformed performers into their ultimate stage persona

Model - Transformation Venue - Emma Heritage

Rumour Mill

Hanna Zulhikam

The Rumour Mill is where the news production and the coffee culture meet. It is where coffee acts as a catalyst to produce conversations that are then heard by the news production office. As a result, stories are filtered then chosen to be printed inside the coffee packages that are then distributed all over Trondheim’s coffee shops.