Visiting Peckham has been an important part of this project so far. We needed to visit the site to get an understanding of what is there and who is there. What is it that makes Peckham, Peckham?
It was very different being in Peckham than Portsmouth or Southampton. It seemed to constantly be busy; the street was filled with people, the roads filled with cars. There did not seem to be a quiet moment. My partner drove us to Peckham, so I got to see a comparison of central London and Zone 2 of London. The drivers in London seemed to be quite inpatient and unforgiving. They seemed to know exactly where they were going, and they weren’t going to let anyone get in the way of that. When in central London, you are surrounded by high rise buildings covered in glass and fancy cars. Peckham seemed to be a much more modest version of Central London.
One thing that stood out about Peckham was the artistic expression. In every direction there is graffiti on the walls, some of it was writing and some of it was simply patterns. There did not seem to be a street that was free of graffiti, almost as if the entirety of Peckham was a canvas. Personally, I don’t find anything wrong with graffiti. It shows that there needs to be somewhere in Peckham where people can express themselves and show their creativity. Peckham Levels would be a good example of this, but what if the people of Peckham could take it into their own hands and create the designs they want, wherever they want?
Within Peckham there is one area on the route that is not shown on google maps. Some of the previous structure had been demolished and, in its place, stands Peckham Palms. This building is in an interesting area as you can see old, new, broken and being rebuilt. It doesn’t fit quite fit into its surrounding making it a unique sight. It’s a very modern building in when compared to the buildings that are around it; it seems to not have embraced what is already there.
The Peckham Peace wall is a concept that I have not seen before. All over this wall by Peckham library were little notes based around peace. It was a deep insight to what the local people think of their home and the world surrounding them.
There were a variety of materials within Peckham that I saw ranging from brick, metal, and concrete. The material palette would make for interesting designs, the materials quite obviously aging over time. Perhaps this could be taken advantage of? The buildings could tell a story based on the materials they are made of.
