PLONK!

About

The project examines the role of infrastructure in modern London’s architectural identity, posing the question of whether the city will ever have a coherent infrastructure plan, or if infrastructure will continue to be 'plonked’ into wherever cities have space.
As the capital’s population swells towards 10 million, the demands upon infrastructure have never been higher. Simultaneously, space in the city has never been at such a premium, and its use never so scrutinised.
London therefore finds itself at a crossroads.
As the groundbreaking Crossrail and Tideway projects take shape beneath our feet, above ground centuries of industrial and infrastructural heritage are being lost to seemingly never ending commercial development, whilst the few projects that have made their way into modern London are increasingly dividing public opinion.
Meanwhile, new proposals such as HS2 and the now infamous Garden Bridge have drawn controversy en masse, and reignited mainstream public debate about what infrastructure means to Londoners - whilst some architects and planners question if our future cities will need infrastructure as we know it at all.
The title PLONK! alludes to this crisis in where infrastructure can fit into the architectural identity of the city - can a coherent planning strategy finally make infrastructure an integrated part of London, or will it forever be ‘plonked’ into wherever space can be found?