This paper explores future architecture shaped by planetary boundaries and social needs, drawing on Doughnut Economics. Using Convoys Wharf in Deptford as a risk-based case study, it critiques UK development monocultures through assemblage theory, arguing for time-led, intuitive, context-specific architecture that resists homogenisation through community engagement and ecological sensitivity.
This research paper speculates on what future architecture could look like if respect for the “ecological ceiling” and planetary boundaries were reconciled with social needs and the practical realities of planning and policy in the built environment, derived from Kate Raworth’s concept of doughnut economics. This is explored by dissecting the limits of existing Western systems and approaches to new developments, specifically in the UK context, using Convoys Wharf as a testbed for potential alternatives—a risk-based case study.
Drawing on the philosophy of Keller Easterling, which advocates working through complexity rather than producing fixed solutions, as well as Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s assemblage theory, this paper argues that time is the primary medium—rather than a passive background—through which the built environment’s political, social, and economic decisions become visible and experienced as lived reality.
Deptford’s current development masterplan depicts a monoculture of land use, producing a narrow population rather than a dynamically evolving culture. As Deptford’s residents have argued, development should be more intuitive, encouraging context-specific building and urban design approaches across the UK and beyond.
Homogenised buildings have significant impacts on both human and planetary scales: increasing resource use and energy demand, driving unsustainable practices, and eroding local identity and biodiversity. Like local materials, the best-performing buildings respond to their environment and social context. “Intuitive”, then, means going beyond minimum policy standards through active community engagement and sensitivity to Deptford’s cultural and historical context, adapting policies in order to resist homogenisation.
The initial way I began investigating the site was through mudlarking—an unconventional site-measuring method that helped the site communicate less tangible, qualitative aspects of its character. By embossing aluminium, the paper adopts the concept of “remembrance through endurance”. When the Thames eventually returns this publication, even if the paper is swallowed by the depths and dispersed into fragments, the metal pages will remain, creating future archaeologies for generations to discover.
This research paper speculates on what future architecture could look like if respect for the “ecological ceiling” and planetary boundaries were reconciled with social needs and the practical realities of planning and policy in the built environment, derived from Kate Raworth’s concept of doughnut economics. This is explored by dissecting the limits of existing Western systems and approaches to new developments, specifically in the UK context, using Convoys Wharf as a testbed for potential alternatives—a risk-based case study.
Drawing on the philosophy of Keller Easterling, which advocates working through complexity rather than producing fixed solutions, as well as Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s assemblage theory, this paper argues that time is the primary medium—rather than a passive background—through which the built environment’s political, social, and economic decisions become visible and experienced as lived reality.
Deptford’s current development masterplan depicts a monoculture of land use, producing a narrow population rather than a dynamically evolving culture. As Deptford’s residents have argued, development should be more intuitive, encouraging context-specific building and urban design approaches across the UK and beyond.
Homogenised buildings have significant impacts on both human and planetary scales: increasing resource use and energy demand, driving unsustainable practices, and eroding local identity and biodiversity. Like local materials, the best-performing buildings respond to their environment and social context. “Intuitive”, then, means going beyond minimum policy standards through active community engagement and sensitivity to Deptford’s cultural and historical context, adapting policies in order to resist homogenisation.
The initial way I began investigating the site was through mudlarking—an unconventional site-measuring method that helped the site communicate less tangible, qualitative aspects of its character. By embossing aluminium, the paper adopts the concept of “remembrance through endurance”. When the Thames eventually returns this publication, even if the paper is swallowed by the depths and dispersed into fragments, the metal pages will remain, creating future archaeologies for generations to discover.