Being a Londoner I argued that the 15-minute-city concept would have to be modified slightly to accommodate public transport that is so iconic in this city. Exploring the area around me with bus trips I discovered that access to services were adequate, but there was a significant lack of
community projects and lively green spaces.
My site is along Gray’s Inn Road, a busy road filled with offices and shops, between Calthorpe Street and Gough Street, both quiet residential streets. My building faces Gray’s Inn Road, where the back of the building faces an existing private green space that would be made public, as my building aims to attract people to the area so that it becomes a community leisure space. There are two bus routes that go along this part of Gray’s Inn Road which could lead to many people having access to my building.

BARTLETT, Y1, PROJECT 3, STUDIO GROUP 4, 2020/21

The main building programme is a Hairdresser’s, where a customer can go to three different “stations”: the Wet Station, the Dry Station, and the Styling Station, where the customer can then receive a service respective to the name of the station. On top of this, the reception is also a shop that sells hair-related products and small crops grown in the adjacent garden and potentially other parts of the green space, which can be prepared or stored in the kitchen below the reception. The
building spaces are also convertible spaces, which could be used for night classes to teach hair styling, or to occasionally become a donation point for those in need, or simply a leisure space to relax.
The building itself is designed to encourage community engagement, where the stations have a half-wall or no wall connecting to the next space so that everyone can hear and potentially communicate with each to create a friendly atmosphere. There is also a door that leads from the lower ground floor out to the green space behind to encourage engagement with the greenery, and a ramp to give people full access to the green area. The building is also supposed to be operational during a (coronavirus) pandemic, because the station spaces allow for at least 2m of space between sitting customers.