With the roof as our site, the fundamental focus of Intermediate 10 is the room that touches the sky – a prime location to gain a new understanding of the city. Our goal this year was to add one extra level (+1) to London’s skyline both conceptually and literally, and to speculate on tangible and fantastic alternatives for the city.

Intermediate 10 is dictated and governed by the notion of the architectural (+1). Throughout the course of the year, the projects centred on the plus one in its urban architectural context, its relevance to London and the Architectural Association itself. When the unit was established at the start of the academic year, the school granted students permission to develop a design that would be constructed on the currently vacant and inaccessible roof at the rear of 33 Bedford Square. This design became the ultimate aim and focus of our collective and individual endeavours over the three terms, as well as the physical manifestation of our united understanding of the plus one in its architectural situation in the city. Designed by students and built by students, the rooftop is a tribute to the founding principles of the school itself.

We pursue a tangible and quantifiable collective goal whilst cultivating individual ideals and philosophies. From collective work on site-specific designs, planning documents and the construction of our particular rooftop, to individual projects that concern the notion of the (+1) in London’s urban setting, the unit tries to tap into what architecture really is. Given the outline and the centre of the (+1), we are left to decipher its meaning and content on our own terms. We develop our own notions and bring these to the wider table of the unit. We start with the simple, elaborate 

to the conceptual and then hone in on the real – the business, the politics of fabrication, the genuine construction and the built project. We savour the English breeze blowing above our head, and our sheepish desire to rise above the parapet.

We are the (+1).

 

Staff

Valentin Bontjes van Beek

 

Acknowledgements   

Tonkin Liu Architects

Pierre d’Avoine

Leslaw Skrzypiec

Alex Hurst

Neue Holzbau CH

Schöb AG

Marianne Mueller

Stefan Seydel

Jan Nauta

Stefano Rabolli-Pansera

AA Facilities Department

Brett Steele

Barbara-Ann Campbell-Lange

Ali Asad

Max Kahlen

Monia De Marchi

Thomas Weaver

Raihan Abu

Fred Scott

Nathalie Rozencwaijg

Lawrence Barth

Tobias Klein

Manijeh Verghese

Jorgen Tandberg

Christopher Dyvik

Takero Shimazaki

Samantha Hardingham

Jeroen van Armeijde

Brendon Carlin

Miraj Ahmed