About Me
- Simon Drayson
- Southsea, Hampshire, United Kingdom
- I grew up in a semi-detached 1930s house in Croydon with my policeman father, nurse mother and younger brother. Ever since my childhood I wanted a career, which like my parents' was people-centric whilst not suppressing my creativity; architecture seemed to offer the perfect balance, and so I relocated to Portsmouth in 2005 to study for my degree at the university there. After graduating in 2008, I moved back home for my year out at Bell Associates Architects and Designers. I returned to Portsmouth in 2009 to study for my diploma. For my thesis foundation I designed a Community Hospice on the site of the Hilsea Lido; affirming my interest in existential architecture. Around this time, I wrote my manifesto Out of the Ordinary, which called for architects to create an everyday architecture of simplicity and honesty; based not on quasi tradition or nostalgia, but rather a hidden reality that ought to be revealed.
Monday 21 February 2011
Saturday 12 February 2011
North African Transgression | Sacrificial Scheme (with Joshua Kievenaar and Sam Sclater-Brooks)
A day-long charrette working with Joshua Kievenaar and Sam Sclater-Brooks to develop a sacrificial scheme for a Spiritual Retreat in the Atlas Mountains.
Using Heideggar's quote "...for building isn't merely a means and a way towards dwelling - to dwell is itself already to dwell" as a starting point, we devised a series of piled structures placed at strategic points along the Ourika Valley spanning from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert. A group of pilgrims would come along and dwell in the first dwelling whist building a new one for the next group and so on. As the dwellings grow along the valley the form and materiality will change according to specific site conditions, including readily available raw materials and vernacular styles.
The dwellings themselves span the base of the valley creating both a bridge to get from here to there, as well as a place in itself. Our design for a typical dwelling typology features a central hearth with sleeping alcoves around it, with the intention that washing is done by the stream and food is sourced from the local communities in exchange for help working the land.
Follow Joshua's blog at emergentstudiojk.blogspot.com
Follow Sam's blog at emergentstudiossb.blogspot.com
Thursday 3 February 2011
North African Transgression | Children's Cachette (with Nezha Alaoui, Natasha Butler and Rachel O'Neill)
A short project designed in situ for a place to play for the street children or Marrakech. The tower is placed in the Jamaa el Fna - the heart of the medina - so as to provide much-needed respite for the children who are otherwise confined to selling tissues and biscuits on the street.
I worked with Nezha Alaoui, Natasha Butler and Rachel O’Neill to create a series of spaces at the scale of the child, based upon our own memories of childhood; climbing, digging, gathering and hiding.
The levels are arranged in a hierarchy based upon height, starting with a door handle designed only for a child’s hand. These layers provide protection a give a sense of secrecy to the children; a chance for them to find their lost childhood.
Follow Natasha's blog at emergentstudionb.blogspot.com
Follow Rachel's blog at emergentstudioro.blogspot.com
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