Platformtwo

Although the process of growing was ment to continuously go on, we could show some strong developments on the first night:
- 100 porcellain glasses (Yuri and Isabel)
- Grass growing out of the walls transforming the staircase into the green lung of the place (Mario)
- Boarded up exterior of the building incorporating pop-out furniture (Gemma)
- A sign that grows with use (Gemma)
- Giant Pinball constructed with wire patterns (Aysenaz)
- Permutating pattern wallpaper produced with home office means (Isabel and Simon)
- Reconstituted bar made with cement and wooden branches (So-Hyun, Roidrigo, Simon)
- A computer designed and processed wall which surface functions as system to fasten various things as e.g. plates, vases and ashtrays (Greetje, So-Hyun, Rodrigo)
- Hand Knitted lampshades covered with kress (Greetje)
- A deliciously smelling wall made of baked bread tiles (Greetje)

Here some impressions of the process of transformation and growing.

In the beginning it seemed, that this basement joint was just another London B-site. But as we learned later, this was a place with a history. in 1970 April Ashley, one of the first openly living transsexuals in Britain at that time, and business partner Desmond (Dizzy) Morgan, opened in the same premises their club AD8. From the start it became a hot spot with London’s celebrity society. Ingrid Bergmann, Ava Gardner, Francis Bacon, this place has seen them all.

March 9th, 2007

A night of wonders and marvels. After it looked like, the Bar would not be ready in time, everything worked out in the end, involving a motor cycle ride on Tom Dixon’s machine and a ad-hoc cab delivery of beer and several expeditions to restock the vastly vanishing supplies. It is believed, that there was no such party since the days of April Ashley.

March 22nd, 2007

The Allotment goes second. After the hysterical sucess of the first opening night, Platform Two decides to have a second go, but this time in the more private atmosphere of 30 handpicked guests, with homemeade food and the beer, that was exclusively brewed for this occasion.

February 5th, 2007

In the spirit of the allotment, that also involves the context of home–grown and home–made, Platform Two learned, how to brew its own beer – home–brewed.

January 29th, 2007

After hot discussions, Platform Two agreed on ‘the Allotment’ as overall working theme and leading idea. An Allotment is “characterized by a concentration in one place of a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individual families, in allotments the parcels are cultivated individually”.

According to this, Platform Two divided the place into the different areas that were necessary to run it, groups of two to three began to adopt the tasks and ‘grow’ them, both in concept and in reality.

January 23rd, 2007

After the former tenants of 8 Egerton Gardens Mews (SW3) had to abandon the premises due to an affair involving illegal gambling, Brompton Estates, the owner of the place, approached The RCA and Platform Two with the idea to make it the place of an unusual project.

Since Platform Two is interrested in exploring different ways of selling and consuming food, the thought suggested itself, to establish this former restaurant and in-place as our research laboratory .
In a presentation of first Ideas to the people of Bromton Estates, together with Tom Dixon Platform Two layed out a variety of possible approaches.

November 23rd, 2006

In pursuit to discover some of probably the best chocolate in the world, Platform Two made its way to West Norwood to visit the Rococo Chocolate manufacture, where a hand full of blessed people celebrate the art of cocoa indulgence to its summit. One of the things we learned on this day - chocolate makes high. [www.rococochocolates.com]

We want to understand the area we are going to run our restaurant/shop/venue in. What are the underlying patterns, the secret drifts, that make Knightsbridge what it is? Whether you are interested into the economical structure around the place, or the different groups of people, that commute the place during the day, or just the pattern of duct covers there…

…observe it, document it in any form and bring it with you for a brief discussion on Saturday 9th, 2pm at the DP Studio.

Although just meant to be a snapshot of ongoing work, this year’s work in progress show demonstrated a remarkable bit of effort people made to present their platform and themselves. Due to its rather improvised nature, the exhibition space rather rendered the impression of a big child’s play room or an loophole to a maniac’s brain. This inspiring atmosphere seems also to have made it’s impression on the visitors. Platform Two’s instant market place can be considered as a successful experiment on how people perceive the consumption of food and the different strategies involved.

Also on the show was the second part of the Manifesto Project with a hand printed result from each participant.

(Pictures arrived)

We’ll be going to see various food places around London

Start @ 11:00 Dalston Kingsland (outside train station)
from there we will explore the Ridley Market famous for its rich mix in ethnic food

after a proper East end lunch we will continue towards the Neal Yard fromagerie in London Bridge

toghether wit Aalex Bettlet from the Bunkery (ex platformtwo) we will finish the day baking @ the Turkish bakery in Tottenham Hale
bon appetit

The first part of our manifesto writing project was a collaboration between students of design communications and platform two. After grouping up two by two (mixed), we were asked to write and a mutual manifesto and publish it somewhere in the RCA.

Anne Harlid and So Hyun

Gemma Holt and Filip Tyden

Georgina Wu and Mario Stadelmann

Sarah Gottlieb and Isabel Lucio

Simone Brewster and Erwan Lhuissier

Zamir Antonio and Yuri Suzuki

Aysenaz Toker and Simon Denzel