“议会的另一种形式”装置丨英国伦敦丨URBAN RADICALS

为纪念伦敦建筑节成立 20 周年，Urban Radicals 重新构想了议会的形式与原型，在伦敦市内设置了四个公共集会平台。这些平台旨在让议会的概念更加亲民，吸引多元化的公众群体，激励伦敦市民积极参与城市话题的讨论，同时庆祝伦敦市中心（Square Mile）丰富多样的街道文化。

历史上以贸易和行会为中心的伦敦市中心不仅是金融枢纽，也是一座文化中心。Urban Radicals 的愿景在传统“广场”概念的基础上进行扩展，涵盖了公共广场、市场和集会场所，将这一地区重新塑造成适合公众讨论、知识交流和社区活动的空间，最终成为一个属于所有人的公共场域。

Urban Radicals 的街头集会分为四种不同的规模和形式，以促进从日常互动到组织性辩论和表演的多样化交流：

演讲者基座（Speaker’s Plinth）：为个人表达意见设计的独立平台。

发声舱（Voicing Pod）：适合两人对话及播客式广播的亲密空间。

圆桌（Roundtable）：可容纳 12 人的聚会空间，用于共享餐饮和讨论。

街头集会（Public Assembly）：一个容纳 40 人的露天小型剧场，用于工作坊、演讲、放映和集会活动。

For the 20th anniversary of the London Festival of Architecture, URBAN RADICALS re-imagined alternative parliament typologies and forms. Four public assembly platforms across the City of London aimed to make the idea of the parliament accessible to a diverse audience, prompting Londoners to actively engage in shaping the city’s discourse, while celebrating the multiplicities which exist in Square Mile’s vibrant streets.

Historically focused on trade and guilds, Square Mile has been both a financial and cultural hub for London. UR’ vision expanded the concept of a “square” to include public squares, markets, and gatherings, transforming Square Mile into a place for public discussion, knowledge exchange, gathering and ultimately a place for all.

Urban Radicals’ Street Assemblies unfolded in four scales and forms to facilitate conversations from everyday interactions, to organised debates and performances:

(1)SPEAKER’S PLINTH: A single person platform for voicing individual opinions.

(2)VOICING POD: An intimate space for conversations and podcast-style broadcasts, ideal for two people.

(3)ROUNDTABLE: A twelve-person gathering spot for shared meals and discussions.

(4)PUBLIC ASSEMBLY: A small auditorium accommodating up to 40 people for workshops, talks, screenings and gatherings.

演讲者基座

Speaker’s Plinth

演讲者基座是一系列沿伦敦历史城墙布置的高台，鼓励公众表达个人观点、分享对城市的反思，同时激发沿街的非正式讨论与表演。灵感来自历史上的希腊古代广场（Agora）的“半圆形长椅”（Exedra）、亚里士多德的漫步讲学，以及 1848 年巴黎革命中女性雕像被安置于基座的象征意义。该项目邀请公众思考：在公共话语中，我们选择将谁置于高台之上？基座的设计深受街头美学、标识语言和反文化运动的影响，其形式还兼具滑板坡道的功能。在基座的临时使用期结束后，这些结构被赠予伦敦南部社区，作为滑板和游戏设施的一部分。通过将滑板基础设施与公共互动平台相结合，Urban Radicals 希望这些临时结构在预算有限的社区中得以延续使用。目前，演讲者基座已被永久安置在位于 Lewisham Ladywell 的 RUSS（乡村与城市合成社会）社区自建空间中。

SPEAKER’S PLINTHS are a series of elevated platforms placed along London’s historic City Wall, that encouraged the voicing of individual opinions, sharing reflection on the city, as well as prompting informal discussion and performance along the street.

Drawing from historical references like the ancient Greek Agora’s ‘Exedra’, Aristotle’s peripatetic walks, and the use of the plinth to elevate the woman figure in the 1848 Paris Revolution, the project invites us to think who we elevate on the plinth for public discourse.

The design and construction of the plinths is rooted in street aesthetics, signage and counterculture. The forms double up as skateboarding ramps, allowing the structures to be gifted to communities of South London as play and skateboarding elements after their temporary life in the City.

By merging functional elements of skateboarding infrastructure with platforms for public engagement, Urban Radicals wanted to guarantee an afterlife for these temporary structures for self-build communities in London that are working with very limited budgets.

Speaker’s Plinths have now been permanently re-homed at Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) Self-Build Community Space in Ladywell, Lewisham.

▼装置概览，general view©Lorenzo Zandri

RUSS 是一家开创性的社区土地信托组织，致力于通过社区自建项目打造可持续且负担得起的住房与公共空间。其教堂格罗夫开发项目是伦敦规模最大的社区主导住房项目，共建造 36 套住房，包括社会租赁和“伦敦生活租赁”模式。这些住房由未来居民共同设计并参与建造，体现了 RUSS 在创建真正可负担、以社区为核心的住房方面的承诺。

重新安置的演讲者基座作为新公共游乐场的一部分，正在由莱迪韦尔的居民与设计团体 Unit 38 共同设计。Unit 38 以其充满趣味和参与性的建筑方法而闻名。这个游乐场位于住宅项目旁边，延续了基座作为公众集会与社区交流平台的意义。

RUSS is a pioneering community land trust, dedicated to building sustainable, affordable homes and public spaces through community self-build projects. The Church Grove development is London’s largest community-led housing project, offering 36 homes with a mix of tenures, including social rent and London Living Rent. These homes are co-designed and self-built by future residents, embodying RUSS’ commitment to creating truly affordable, community-driven housing. Speaker’s Plinths, re-imagined as part of a new public playground, are being co-designed by residents of Ladywell and Unit 38 — a design collective known for their playful and participatory approach to architecture. The playground sits alongside the residential project, continuing the plinths’ legacy of public gatherings and community exchange.

▼作为公众集会与社区交流平台，the plinths’ legacy of public gatherings and community exchange©Lorenzo Zandri

发声舱 Voicing Pod

发声舱是一个为对话、播客和公众互动设计的亲密空间，最初位于标志性的劳埃德大楼（Lloyd’s Building）之下。劳埃德大楼也被称为“内外倒置建筑”，由建筑师理查德·罗杰斯设计。受其所在建筑的功能美学和周围机电系统的启发，发声舱提醒人们，这些看似不起眼的空间值得被纳入建筑设计中，它们往往为街道提供了重要的文化和美学价值。发声舱由木材制成，并覆以天然软木，提供良好的声学和热性能。

外部的软木面板雕刻了一个名为《种子与迁徙的故事》（Stories of Seeds and Migration）的迷你展览，由建筑师兼作家 Leela Keshav 创作，探讨了通过植物与杂草视角呈现的文化身份、迁徙和归属主题。发声舱旨在通过广播和播客引发人们对伦敦隐藏公共空间的关注，例如屋顶花园和建筑底层。这些区域虽然不明显，但根据第 106 条规定，私人建筑必须将 10-25% 的地面面积用于公共用途。目前，发声舱已永久迁至新汉姆区（Newham）利河（River Lea）沿岸的 Cody Dock 社区中心，继续推动多元声音的传播，并提供免费的播客录制场地。

VOICING POD is an intimate space for conversation, podcasts, and public engagement, originally sited in the underbelly of the iconic Lloyd’s Building, also known as the “Inside-Out Building” designed by architect Richard Rogers.

Inspired by the functional aesthetics of its host building, MEP systems around it, the pod suggests that these intimate interventions are worth considering as buildings, often facilitating important programme to the street, adding cultural and aesthetic value to the shared urban environments.

Constructed from timber and clad in natural cork for its acoustic and thermal insulation properties, the Voicing Pod was designed to deliver an acoustically insulated interior for podcast conversations and live radio broadcasts from the street. On its exterior, CNC-cut cork panels carried a mini pin-up exhibition by architect and writer Leela Keshav entitled ‘Stories of Seeds and Migration’, which explored themes of cultural identity, migration and belonging through the lens of plants and weeds that one finds in London’s Square Mile.

Urban Radicals created the Voicing Pod to raise awareness (via radio broadcasts and podcasts) about the less obvious public spaces in London, such as rooftop gardens and the underbellies of buildings. These areas may not seem like part of the public realm, yet Section 106 mandates that private buildings provide 10-25% of their ground footprint for public use. The Voicing Pod is located in one of these spaces, beneath the Lloyd’s building. Throughout the Square Mile, many legally mandated public spaces exist as rooftop gardens or viewing galleries, which are not immediately apparent to the public.

Following its successful run at the Lloyd’s Building, the Voicing Pod has now been permanently re-homed at Cody Dock, a creative community hub along the River Lea in Newham. There, the pod continues its mission of amplifying diverse voices and facilitating public conversations. It remains accessible for anyone to visit and can even be booked for podcast recordings.

This new location allows the Voicing Pod to maintain its role as a free public broadcasting station in the city, while contributing to the cultural fabric of Cody Dock and Newham.

▼发声舱装置，voicing pod installation©Lorenzo Zandri

▼发声舱装置，voicing pod installation©Lorenzo Zandri

▼为街道提供了重要的文化和美学价值，adding cultural and aesthetic value to the shared urban environments©Lorenzo Zandri

圆桌

Roundtable

圆桌是一个圆形的聚会空间，设计用途多样化，既可以用于共享餐饮、讨论、品尝啤酒、抽烟、刷手机，也可以作为阅读书籍、品咖啡和沉思的场所，既可面向内部，也可朝向外部。

圆桌最初位于摩尔门站（Moorgate Station）附近，靠近巴比肯艺术中心和史密斯菲尔德市场等地标。其设计灵感源于历史辩论形式，如英国首次记载的“议会”——位于舍伍德森林的议会橡树（Parliament Oak），这棵古老的橡树至今仍然存在；以及更现代的联合国安理会会议室中的圆桌。它强调了平等和民主参与，鼓励所有人的声音都能被听到。

圆桌的形式如同一个交汇点或“环岛”，为人们提供了聚会的场所。它被设计为可容纳 12 至 18 人的聚会点，适合共享餐饮、讨论，或者只是作为一个观察城市的停留空间。圆桌的设计鼓励随意的社交互动，同时营造了一种独特的空间动态，使人们的并排而坐本身成为一种互动体验。

在材料选择上，圆桌采用现成的工业组件建造，包括钢网（后涂漆）和混凝土排水管作为支腿，这些支腿内部种植了树木，象征着伦敦的多元文化。长椅的设计让人联想到电报杆，进一步增添了街道化的语言元素。种植的植物与色彩的运用柔化了工业原材料的生硬感，而其环形布置则借鉴了熟悉的篝火形式，营造出与周围商业化都市环境对比鲜明的社区氛围。

夏季期间，圆桌举办了丰富多彩的公共活动，包括艺术工作坊、政治辩论等，吸引了公众的广泛参与。街道作为公共舞台，在成为真正的民主和包容空间时，能实现真正的多样性和知识交流。这些活动的特别之处在于其开放的广场环境，路人可以随时驻足、倾听或参与，吸引了许多原本可能不会特意前往活动现场的公众。

圆桌在伦敦市中心的展示结束后，已永久安置于新汉姆区（Newham）利河（River Lea）沿岸的 Cody Dock 社区中心。作为一个非凡的社区枢纽，Cody Dock 为圆桌提供了理想的长期驻地。圆桌继续免费向公众开放，成为社区活动和公共讨论的场所。作为 Cody Dock 和 Open City 活动的一部分，圆桌持续举办辩论、讨论和庆祝活动，延续其作为社区互动和公共话语平台的角色。

ROUNDTABLE is a circular gathering space designed for shared meals, discussions, a pint, a cigarette, a scroll, a space to read a book and sip a coffee, a space to ponder; facing inwards or outwards. It was originally located near Moorgate Station, close to landmarks like the Barbican and Smithfield Market. Inspired by historical forms of debate, such as UK’s first recorded ‘parliament’ under Parliament Oak, an ancient oak tree which still exists in Sherwood Forest, and more contemporaries such as the round table in the UN’s Security Council Chamber in Norway; it promotes horizontality and democratic participation. The table’s form acts as a crossroad or ‘roundabout’ for meeting. Designed as a 12 to 18 person gathering spot, it invites shared meals, conversations, or simply a place to pause and observe the city. Its design encourages casual social interactions, while also generating a spatial dynamic which makes the act of sitting alongside other people inherently performative. Materially, the Roundtable is constructed from off-the-shelf industrial components such as steel – mesh, later painted, as well as concrete drainage pipes for the legs, which are in-turn inhabited with a selection of trees, symbolising London’s diverse cultures. Benches, reminiscent of telegraph poles, add to the street-like language, while the planting and painting, soften the industrial raw materials, their circular arrangement plays with the familiar and informal campfire format, contrasting its corporate urban surroundings and fostering the sense of a communal, welcoming gathering space. Over the summer, the Roundtable hosted a diverse programme of public events that fostered participation and interaction, ranging from artistic workshops to public debates on politics. The street, as a public stage, allows for genuine diversity and knowledge exchange when it becomes a truly democratic and inclusive space for all. What made these events particularly special was their open-air setting in the square, which invited passersby to stop, listen, or join in—engaging people who might not have otherwise known about or attended the events. After its time in the City of London, the Roundtable has found a permanent home at Cody Dock in Newham. This extraordinary community hub along the River Lea offers a fitting location for the Roundtable, which remains free and open for anyone to visit. As part of Cody Dock’s and Open City’s events, the Roundtable continues to host debates, discussions, and celebrations, fulfilling its role as a space for community engagement and public discourse.

▼圆桌装置，roundtable installation ©Lorenzo Zandri

▼圆桌装置，roundtable installation ©Lorenzo Zandri

▼圆桌装置细部，roundtable installation detail©Lorenzo Zandri

街头集会 Assembly

街头集会是一个露天的小型剧场，曾设于伦敦国王学院 Maughan 图书馆（前公共档案馆）外。这座二级保护建筑前的空间被设计为公共辩论、表演、放映及集会的场所。该项目的灵感来源于权力政治场所，例如英国下议院和市民广场，以及佛罗伦萨领主广场（Piazza della Signora），后者在朱塞佩·佐奇（Giuseppe Zocchi）的绘画中被描绘为政治演讲、交流甚至对抗的场所。结合政治与辩论的空间特性，街头集会旨在将民主过程带入城市的公共空间。

ASSEMBLY is an open-air street auditorium which was located outside the Grade II Maughan Library, King’s College London, formerly the Public Records Office.

Designed as a space for public debates, performances, screenings, and gatherings, the project draws inspiration from spaces of political power like the House of Commons and civic squares, including the Piazza della Signora in Florence, famously depicted by Giuseppe Zocchi as a space for political speech, exchange, and even confrontation.

With an understanding of the spatialities of politics and debate, Assembly aimed to bring democratic processes into the City and its street. The form is therefore a unified horseshoe bench below an inflatable canopy, fostering a sense of community and deliberation.

The structure, which is the largest one from the four street assemblies and can accommodate 40 people, aims to merge the democratic processes typically confined to institutional buildings with the openness and direct accessibility of the street.

The auditorium is made from simple plywood, hiding the ballast required to counteract the inflatable canopy’s uplift, fastened on a lightweight aluminium frame. The canopy provides shelter from the rain while creating a festival-like atmosphere.

The zebra-painted legs and references to street language and crossings integrate Assembly into the city’s visual language, turning the street into a stage for political and civic engagement.

▼街头集会装置，assembly installation©Lorenzo Zandri

▼灯光下的街头集会，assembly installation in the lights©Lorenzo Zandri

Urban Radicals 旨在挑战传统的民主过程的形式、地点以及由谁发起的观念。街头集会（Assembly）提出了另一种政治形式——一种扎根于公共领域、开放性和即时性的民主模式。该结构设想了市民集会和决策过程直接在公共空间内进行，完全公开并可供所有人观察和参与。通过将这些集会活动置于街道中，该项目借鉴了古希腊广场（Agora）的理念。在广场中，商品与思想的交流以平等、灵活的方式展开。这一设计体现了一种可适应、模块化的建筑形式，为不同的视角敞开大门，邀请每一位路过的人参与其中。

Urban Radicals aimed to challenge traditional notions of how, where and by whom democratic processes take place. Assembly suggests a different kind of politics—one rooted in the commons, the open and the immediate. The structure imagines citizens’ assemblies and decision-making processes happening out in the public realm, in full view of all, within the street.

By situating these assemblies in the streets, the project considers the ancient Agora, where exchange of both goods and ideas occurred in a horizontal, flexible manner. It embodies an adaptable, plug-in architecture, opening itself up to different perspectives and inviting participation from all who pass by.

▼街头集会，assembly installation©Lorenzo Zandri

▼街头集会夜景，assembly installation at night©Lorenzo Zandri