The following are not façade centric but emphasise the fact that buildings can indeed decay and die if unloved.

Quick orientation, 8-storey residential tower situated on a 3-storey commercial base-build podium. The residential tower is occupied, the lower commercial floors have been unoccupied for over 30 years; this abandoned section of building is where our discoveries were made.

During a site visit there were several finds that ranged from rare examples of preserved decay to absurd circumstance.

The first find was an image from the third instalment of the aforementioned series. The gentleman’s impressive hair is rivalled only by the scale of his computers. Meanwhile, he appears to have police commissioner Gordon’s red telephone, so his role must have been of some importance. Aside from offering a glimpse into a by-gone era from a fashion and technological point of view, the image provides insight into the building’s use. It is apparently a West facing shot as the chimney stacks that can be seen through the windows are still present today. He’s likely standing on the 1st floor given the Crittall wide ribbon bay arrangement. In the article, the office floors were said to house many computers, the weight distribution likely never reflected calculations, but redundancy is typically on our side.

The second image is one of curiosity on several accounts. 1) The grouping. Reviewed in relation to the five targets, the title ‘Marksman’ can be reserved. However, when the reverse side is viewed a tentative acknowledgment that perhaps this was the side in the sights… The user would likely champion the second assumption. Or, perhaps there were three individuals sharing one firearm and taking turns. 2) Transporting a rifle vs handgun. Having used very little firearms I’m unqualified but would say the likelihood of this being a rifle would be small, unless the users lived in the apartments above, as concealing a rifle on public transport or underarm would be fairly obvious. Or less interestingly the used targets were simply discarded on site. 3) The building was considered so unused and secluded that people felt comfortable to use as a shooting range, the long open floor plates are difficult to ignore as fitting.

The next image is not intended to shock, nor meaninglessly immortalise pigeons, but indicate the volume of time that has past in order to only present the bones. Although, it’s puzzling as to why they are in such close proximity and almost in correlating positions; coincidence? arranged by predators? It doesn’t particularly matter, but I’m always surprised about how convinced we are that flora and fauna can’t enter our buildings, yet they do, often.

These last images were one of the highlights of the excursion. The first image is of a beautifully preserved family of Calthemites, I say family as there were multiple sets of these families which formed part of a greater colony. You’ll also note I’ve used the word preserve, I mean this in the context of a slow-moving dynamic as the form is changing unhurriedly as the stalactite grows downward and therefore not strictly preserved in time. The length of this particular one was over 2ft. Forensically there is no way to confirm how long it has taken to reach this status, be wary of those that claim they can. The influencing factors are too vast. To add some rationale you need to understand what is happening, why this occurs and then qualify the frequency and volume of inputs, one of them being the atmospheric cycles.

The other images are of glorious pools of calcium carbonate deposits with rich mineral consuming mosses sprawling concentrically to surround or boarder their life support. The linear array of calcium mushrooms are no happenstance, they are a result and direct mirror of, the defect in the structure above. Sometimes the things on the floor tell us what’s happening overhead.

The original property, Broad Green House, reportedly had sale issues for four decades. Whilst not completely repeated, the history does rhyme, with the later Zodiac Court falling into dilapidation for just over three decades, creating an eery coincidence. This is just one example of the spaces we likely have an abundance of, which, with practical and proactive attitudes can be repurposed. There’s an inevitability however, that buildings will continue to fall into dis-use. We build so many, they’re expensive to up-keep and susceptible to economic downturns. If we can accept this through the design in the first instance, we may be able to mitigate some of the compounding effects that result in damages that are commercially challenging to resolve. Wood rots, steel corrodes and concrete spalls. If we can develop frame works that project our atmospheric relationship forward, if we can position materials in more resilient sequences and if we can invest in developing de-construction that is as palatable as construction, then we’ll become better custodians of the materials we refine.

Lastly, it was not possible to write this without a doff of the cap to Peep Show as the opportunity will not arise again anytime soon, so I will leave you with some satire that may resonate:

“Look, the problem for you is I’m your friend. I know you, Mark. I know you like to pretend that you’re this stuffed shirt who reads incredibly boring books about dead people killing each other with bayonets and typhoid, but I know the truth. I’ve watched Grand Designs with you. That smile when some eco-glass gets delayed on its way from Antwerp and the nice couple gets pushed over budget. That’s the real you.” (Jez)