• The Unrealised Project FOOD | CITIES | EATS was to be created from themes relating to food production, shopping routines and the public and private spaces shaped by the needs of human survival, economic competition and social interaction. It was to draw upon previous related projects and installations and to an extension of working methodology and forms of representation. • “The twentieth century has been the century of urbanisation… the qualities of urban living in the next century will define the qualities of life for the mass of humanity.” David Harvey • The trading or bartering of food probably represents one of the most basic forms of human exchange. From antiquity onward, during the growth of towns and cities, rural phenomenon became situated within the hierarchy of urban spaces. Informal country markets evolved into marketplaces and fairs. The market place became both a site where products could be bought and sold and also a public space in which ideas and information could be discussed and debated. As cities expanded, the market place became a disease ridden, often dangerous and inadequate institution incapable of fulfilling the needs of a growing population. As one remedy to this situation, the market place evolved into the market hall. As architectural sites within the social geography of the city, market halls signified civic structures around which one aspect of the communal life of the city developed. • This project evolves from and draws its visual and audio elements from the contrasting realities of the public market and the private hypermarket; AND, the neighbourhoods and customers that make these institutions economically viable. • The first stage of the project revolves around identifying districts and places where people shop and documenting these routines. Then, the project evolves into an investigation into the character of these sites, the social and architectural qualities and the differences in the local shopping habits. In the initial stages the project is concerned with architecture and urbanism, and then the routines of food shopping and the sources of the products sold in markets. Its substance built upon investigations that define how, why and where people shop for food. They became materialisations of the social spaces of exchange and human interaction. • Like Budapest (where I live), European cities have many ‘public’ markets located within the city’s different districts. The markets have different characteristics perhaps defined by the ‘class’ character or architecture of the district. For example in Madrid, the Market in Vallecas is different from the Mercado Cebada or San Miguel. The first stages of the project revolve around identifying districts where the market hall still plays a significant role in local shopping habits. Then, the project evolves into an investigation into the character of the markets, the social and architectural qualities and the differences in the local shopping habits. Do people shop nearby or do they travel to hypermarkets? How do they travel? What are the paths they take to travel to these different destinations? The paths have visual and audio features, or markers that distinguish one ‘urban trail’ from another. These paths can conspire to create visual and audio elements.
• The Unrealised Project FOOD | CITIES | EATS was to be created from themes relating to food production, shopping routines and the public and private spaces shaped by the needs of human survival, economic competition and social interaction. It was to draw upon previous related projects and installations and to an extension of working methodology and forms of representation. • “The twentieth century has been the century of urbanisation… the qualities of urban living in the next century will define the qualities of life for the mass of humanity.” David Harvey • The trading or bartering of food probably represents one of the most basic forms of human exchange. From antiquity onward, during the growth of towns and cities, rural phenomenon became situated within the hierarchy of urban spaces. Informal country markets evolved into marketplaces and fairs. The market place became both a site where products could be bought and sold and also a public space in which ideas and information could be discussed and debated. As cities expanded, the market place became a disease ridden, often dangerous and inadequate institution incapable of fulfilling the needs of a growing population. As one remedy to this situation, the market place evolved into the market hall. As architectural sites within the social geography of the city, market halls signified civic structures around which one aspect of the communal life of the city developed. • This project evolves from and draws its visual and audio elements from the contrasting realities of the public market and the private hypermarket; AND, the neighbourhoods and customers that make these institutions economically viable. • The first stage of the project revolves around identifying districts and places where people shop and documenting these routines. Then, the project evolves into an investigation into the character of these sites, the social and architectural qualities and the differences in the local shopping habits. In the initial stages the project is concerned with architecture and urbanism, and then the routines of food shopping and the sources of the products sold in markets. Its substance built upon investigations that define how, why and where people shop for food. They became materialisations of the social spaces of exchange and human interaction. • Like Budapest (where I live), European cities have many ‘public’ markets located within the city’s different districts. The markets have different characteristics perhaps defined by the ‘class’ character or architecture of the district. For example in Madrid, the Market in Vallecas is different from the Mercado Cebada or San Miguel. The first stages of the project revolve around identifying districts where the market hall still plays a significant role in local shopping habits. Then, the project evolves into an investigation into the character of the markets, the social and architectural qualities and the differences in the local shopping habits. Do people shop nearby or do they travel to hypermarkets? How do they travel? What are the paths they take to travel to these different destinations? The paths have visual and audio features, or markers that distinguish one ‘urban trail’ from another. These paths can conspire to create visual and audio elements.