Built shortly after the 2012 Olympic games in a vacant London lot, the Caravanserai was an urban oasis deigned as a platform for community exchange. This temporary installation sought to bring together makers, musicians, gardeners and performers and served as a spring board for local interaction. Volunteer groups and individuals were encouraged to participate with area gardens and kiosk fitouts which added to the rich and diverse flow of ideas circulating through the space and served as creative exploration to take forward into new ventures.
For more information, visit https://caravanserai.org.uk/
“The interest in creating contemporary forms of the commons has grown and grown over the last few years in the UK. This comes both from a realization that we are losing a set of social, cultural and living spaces, which have always been in need of more attention but now their very existence must be justified. Simultaneously we are amazed by a new richness in the ways we can meet outside the normal channels and have vague desires to do more with each other. We wonder what collaboration means in these new places where digital encounters lead to face-to-face experiences. These experiences are not real dates with a road map but informal encounters that require repetition to become strong and meaningful. Temporary places can play a critical role in strengthening neighbourhoods they leave networks behind them with a shared set of cultural experiences.”
“The Caravanserai was designed as a critical piece of missing infrastructure in the city. It was called the Caravanserai as it was designed to be a network such as the Silk Road, a safe haven with journeymen and communities meeting for sound reasons in a place where skills and trade could be exchanges of experiences and is a vision we need in London.”
Project design by Ash Sakula Architects