Promotion and Conservation of Antiques and Historical Objects

 

In today’s society, more and more people choose to reside in urban areas; cities are forced to respond to the increasing needs of its accumulating occupants. This results to rapid new developments of uniformed, soulless buildings and mainly profit driven. This paper would aim to design a unique form of ‘sanctuary’ for a specific function and specific groups of individuals.

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“High rent is one problem for antique-sellers”, as stated in an article by The Economist (2015), is another reason why the Antique trade is in decline. Many sellers simply cannot afford to pay the rising rents to sustain trade in the busy city. The chosen site is Sclater Street in Shoreditch, London. The site is adjacent to Brick Lane, a vibrant trendy area with its popular small independent shops, exhibitions, events and markets. It is a real hub for trades of antiques; collectibles; fashion; curiosity objects and second-hands, with the benefit of having popular younger visitors.

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The chosen urban site is a plot of land in Sclater Street and is a part of the Brick Lane market, otherwise a parking lot when the market is not on. Another interesting site issue is how gentrification is taking over the historic markets and instead being replaced by soulless developments. Sclater Street Market is half the size of what it used to be. The gentrification is causing mainly negative public perception, a shop owner in Brick Lane commented, “The brutality of gentrification that is destroying the lives and demolishing the homes of some of London’s most vulnerable people” (O’Carroll, 2015). The sense of community, unique characteristic and historic markets are in danger of disappearing.

 

The proposed programme will need to take into account all mentioned issues to generate a project relevant to the current urban setting.