Chapter 2
In Context
The area around the Wickes store on Seven Sisters Road
presents the ubiquitous features of an outer London
borough.
Light industry and heavy vehicular traffic, residential
neighbourhoods inflected by mixed cultural groups, and
street surfaces emblazoned with commercial advertising.
The streets and spaces are busy with the non-events of
the everyday lives of the many kinds of people that live,
work and pass through them. In what ways can the urban
conditon be contextualised from a spatial perspective?
What can be included that the architect might omit from
their site analysis? I am interested in how, if at all, space
and the systems of its production such as legislation,
ownership, programming, licensing, immigration etc impact
the everyday in this area and whether the actions of the
people within these systems can make any difference at all.