The term 'place' is not just about the siting of a building or a city; it also embodies the perception of a place. And it is here that my project begins. Next, 'event' plays an important role because it can be created by people in everyday life. Personal activity and images determine the memory of a place, they become that place. There is a close-knit reciprocated relationship between place and event. These two combined I see as production. Together they represent change rather than stability in the contemporary city. Place can be conceived through the production of events. These events are crucial to an understanding of place.

In London, a football match is the most representative event because it is held weekly and is strongly connected to culture and daily life. For my research area I chose Highbury, in the borough of Islington, which has two football stadiums. In a stadium, a football match is no more than a programme. Include the surrounding area and it becomes an event. So my research began by investigating what happens outside the stadiums. I discovered that temporary elements which appear only on match days, such as stalls and police posts, produce and control events. My aim is to reveal the potential of a place for the production of events by researching the logistic system of temporary elements and the spatial relationship between event and site and recording them in plans. At the same time I seek to visualize how an intensive event such as a football match influences the everyday life of the local inhabitants.

Armed with my theoretical approach and the maps containing the research results, I came up with the design concept: the border conditions between match day (event as an intense moment) and everyday (event as daily life). The two converge in my design for a supermarket. This serves both the local inhabitants from day to day and visitors to the matches. It is sited on the edge of an area of temporary elements, which means that the building is to function as the remote control of events. So it deals with the production of events and thus with the phenomenon of place. By functionally connecting Highbury Stadium as a memory of place and Emirates Stadium as a symbol of place, my project contributes to making a place of the area of Highbury.

Place of education: TU Delft | Specialization: architecture | Tutors: Marc Schoonderbeek, Heidi Sohn, Freerk Hoekstra