Parliament Square: Container for Protest
Parliament Square should be a place for protest but it is an inaccessible roundabout. Protestors resist the order capitalism forces upon them. The entropic process of decay in organic matter resists an ordered state, naturally moving to a state of disorder. The process of protest and decay are both required to maintain a dynamic equilibrium. Order is imposed on the Square daily as the hoggin surface is carefully raked and any artefacts within its boundary are collected. Over the course of the day the square becomes disordered. The raked hoggin surface becomes disturbed, picking up traces of the linear movement of vehicles and the wandering of pedestrians. Artefacts may accumulate on the surface, remnants of the event. The day to day functioning of the square is an ongoing protest against the order imposed on it. It is through remnants that we are able to observe the event. These used to be purely physical objects, be it an archaeological artefact or a piece of writing on paper. Today, much event is observed by means of digital remnants. Hidden internet infrastructure dislocates remnants from their respective event place. This proposal aims to reconfigure Parliament Square to function as a CONTAINER FOR PROTEST. THE LID of the container is event space where the event occurs and is captured, the extent of which is defined by a perimeter brass boundary line. INSIDE of the container, two storage objects reside, one accumulates digital remnants the other physical remnants. Remnants outside the protective shells of the storage objects are subject to the entropic process of decay. The objects manifest themselves above through markers in the form of an observation tower and floodlight. The perimeter wall of the container has a thickness, accommodating necessary services for the objects inside the container and for circulation. images below