The Architecture of Democracy

Metaverse
Year: 2022

The project ‘The Architecture of Democracy’ was created in response to the recent implementation of Brexit with the goal of exploring the idea of how architecture and politics influence each other and the views of the public. This was done with the initial collaborative anthology on different debate chambers of countries within the EU, researching, drawing, and modelling these into a cohesive book. This project was seven weeks long.

The design portion focuses on choosing a word to ‘obsess’ over and a develop a stance on politics and democracy to design for – this could be either our own stance or a completely fictional one. This formed the concept of the design and informed our decisions in what and how we wanted to portray things. The theme for this project was the word ‘spolia’ – repurposing stone from one building to another – with the stance of ‘extreme equality’.

This is embodied in every part of the design. The chamber is circular, forcing politicians to face one another with not one person being at any vantage point, and has glazing all around it, allowing members of the public to witness debates from the same level as the politicians, symbolising that they are equal in power. There is a hydraulic lift in the centre, through which the politicians enter, meaning no one is closer or further to their seats upon entry. There is also a space which has been cleared for a wheelchair user, showing how the seats can be moved/removed/altered if needed to allow those with disabilities to join in the debate.