Monument to a River Pebble

Project details

Student Duncan Sam Kennedy Mcallister

Programme

Unit UG6

Year 2

The river pebble finally finds its resting place on the tidal Rainham beaches. The building is a spatial transition from the mundane to the sacred, finding refuge in the Sanctuary, where the river pebble is presented as a deity of the Thames. An interplay between the grand scale of the Thames and the intimate size of the pebble.

The Transition from Marshland to the Sanctuary

A weaving journey through timber piles, alluding to a prehistoric forest. Prescribed paths mirroring river forms break up the forest into more predictable routes and ramp into the river.

Tidal Pebble Pools

The pebbles have been collected from the Thames, digitally scanned and then cast into tiles. The cast stone pebble tiles in the Sanctuary leave traces of the tides in their cavities.

Plans: Scales of the Thames

A landscape intervention at heart. The only enclosed area is the 1.8 meters squared space at the centre of the Sanctuary: a refuge. The project aims to create a sense of belonging through spatial intimacy, contrasting the vastness of the river.

A Glimpse of the Sanctuary

At low tide, the Sanctuary is accessible to humans. At high tide, the Sanctuary is occupied by the Thames. The diagrams show the route in which water makes its way through perforations in the thick cast concrete walls to the inner core.

Section at Low Tide: Shared Spaces.

Follies and half-submerged refuges fill with water and slowly leak back out at low tide. Traces of river matter are deposited up against river walls. All alludes to another presence: the landscape is inhabited by water, river artefacts and wildlife.

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