The Babylon Times by AA School

The Babylon Times

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014

ARCHITECTS AT WAR! By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Marques Castro “ I believe in the power of imagination to remake the world.” - J.G. Ballard

The war of ego rages on, destroying the fabric of London

he world has changed so much since its inception and here we are today still waging wars and battles. As cities begin to grow more and more vertically, the human race is turning against a certain species among them; this species consists of those who we call architects. London, the capital of the United Kingdom, was once a beautiful and charming city. But recent developments of its skyline has transformed it into a victim of a creative war. The war is waged between the young and the old, the moralists and the immoralists, the idealists and the egoists. It errupted and will continue to destroy the city around it until it destroys the Victorian wonders

in entirety. So, what next? Are we going to give the construction of our new city to the wise and experienced or to the young and quixotic? Well the answer lies very much in the balance of the two. The contributions of the experienced are definitely not to be ignored and their potential should not be boycotted. However, creating a new city by only looking back to the past does not sound like a good solution either. Instead the answer lies in balance, the principle nature relies on. The best way to create a new city is to look back at the past and reinvent it. In the following pages of this weekly newspaper, the unbuilt towers of London

have been unearthed, researched, manipulated and transformed to create a new version of the city a space that allows for the iconic towers of ego, yet also strives to make architects collaborate to prevent future wars. This new city is what we call Babylon. Once a nickname for London, it has now become its future. Like the biblical Tower of Babel, the city draws its inspiration from London’s forgotten fictions. It is made from thrown away drawings and scraps of paper. This newspaper will document, and at times, catalyse the changes in the city. We hope you enjoy the journey and read on to find out more about Babylon.

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THE CRYSTAL PALACE TOWER By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Marques Castro

The Crystal Palace tower, was imagined as a memorial to the late Prince Albert in 1861, where the parts belonging to the original Crystal Palace were recombined to form a tall thin obelisk, reaching 304 metres high into the Victorian sky. While it showed foresight for the glass and steel structures of today, the lack of technology at the time prevented it from ever leaving the draughtsmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s table. After the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Crystal Palace did not seem to have taken a place in the heart of Londoners. They wanted to reclaim the space occupied by it but also keep the memory the great exhibition. A competition was floated and designers, visionaries and architects were called forward to invest ideas on the crystal palace. 2

The artist, Mr. Burton, proposed to take the horizontality of the crystal palace and convert it into a vertical tower which would use the same modular principles that the crystal palace worked on. He proposed a 1000ft tall tapering tower that would house all the materials and machines from the exhibition, and provide a viewing platform, from which Londoners could view their city from 1000ft above the ground. Mr. Burton also included elements from the then popular Victorian style, like turrets, chimneys and clocks. His proposal remained an idea due to lack of technological advancement but like its predecessor, it has the potential to be a space to exhibit and communicate the new wonders of Babylon.

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MILLENNIUM TOWER VS. THE GHERKIN Babylon City witnessed the much awaited boxing match between The Millennium Tower and The Gherkin on 13th July 2013 at St Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Street.

For the first half of the match, The Millennium Tower, standing at over 382m tall, overshadowed The Gherkin. The Millennium Tower crushed The Gherkin for the first 15 minutes. Officials from English Heritage cheered for The Millennium Tower, whilst Heathrow officials supported The Gherkin. Norman Foster sat silent, suddenly interested in the battle in which he was both winning and losing.

The game completely turned in the second half. The Gherkin began to fight back, punching The Millennium Tower very hard. English Heritage officials suddenly dropped their support from Millennium Tower. It is widely speculated that this was due to pressure from the Heathrow Airport Authority.

It has been reported that after the match The Gherkin received a threatening call from an unknown number. The caller claimed that they are en route to Babylon, where they will soon arrive to become the next greatest tower ever. The question is will this threatening call become a reality?

By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

Stay tuned for more...

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VERTICAL HOROSCOPES By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

MILLENNIUM TOWER Don’t be proud of the fact that you are the tallest, for you have a very high chance of not being built. The wind is not your good friend and might take a toll on you. 2007 will prove to be a depressing year as someone tries to replace you. Just keep your approach simple and don’t worry too much.

MANSION HOUSE SKYSCRAPER 1967 will be a great year for you and if you will be built you will be considered one of the great buildings of London.You might quarrel with a famous person. The 1980s will be a problamatic time for you. Be confident and strong enough to overcome all these problems.

SELFRIDGES TOWER 1918 will be a creative, and somewhat constructive, year for you. You may face problems with your size. Your future will be decided by the finances of yourself and others. Start saving now.

THE REFORM TOWER 1831 will be a lucky year for you and your construction. The following year may be disastorous, and there is a threat that may stop your growth.

THE CRYSTAL PALACE TOWER Ups and downs are quite possible in your life. 1861 will be a lucky year for you. Something constructive will happen, but due to obsolete technology there may be some problems.

THE PYRAMID You have great potential to store. You are as silent and calm as the ocean, but all through your life people will associate you with negativity. You are often misinterpreted, but your glory will be celebrated in some part of the world for years to come.

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THE SELFRIDGES TOWER AND THE LEGACY OF MR. SELFRIDGE By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

and Company in Chigago. After twenty-five years of hard work, Mr. Selfridge was eventually apointed as a junior partner in one of the largest stores in America.

The Birth of the ‘Retail Babel’ During a visit to London in 1906, Harry Gordon Selfridge noticed the UK retail industry lagging behind, especially when compared to the department stores in US. The built part of the Selfridges store was designed by an American architect, Daniel Burnham, who also designed the influential ‘World’s Columbian Exposition’ in Chicago in 1893. The Selfridges department store was built in phases, in the neo-classical style proposed by Burnham. The proposed Selfridges department store was much larger than the actual built form that we perceive today. Mr Selfridge received a commision from The Portman Estates and Marylebone Council to build the unbuilt tower of Selfridges. He employed Philip Tilden and Sir John Burnet to manifest his dream ‘Retail Babel’. The proposed tower was 450 feet tall standing on top of the built part of the Selfridges department store. Besides the image on the right, Tilden also proposed four variations of the tower, but none of them were approved by him.

Harry Gordon Selfridge circa 1880

Although the ambitious vision remained on paper, in the end, Mr Selfridge was still fascinated by the idea of building his Retail Kingdom. From 1919, Tilden drew a series of fictional images to portray his ambition in the picture of a huge castle. Rise of the Retail Giant Harry Gordon Selfridge was born in Ripon, Wisconsin in the United States. He delivered newspapers and left school when he was 14. In 1876, Mr. Selfridges’s ex-employer wrote a recommendation letter for him to work in the Marshall Field

In 1906, Mr Selfridge travelled to London with his wife. Here, he recognised huge potentential for this city of culture and commerce to expand his business industry. He therefore abandoned his retiremaent plan, and decided to invest 400,000 Pounds to set up a new department store at the western end of Oxford Street, opposite Bond Street tube station. The department store was called Harry G. Selfridge and Co.

The Selfridges Tower proposed by Philip Tilden and Sir John Brunet in 1918

The Selfridges store prospered during WWI and continued to be profitable until the mid-1930s. With the Great Depression after WWII, Selfridges ran up 250,000 Pounds of debt and was forced out by the Selfridges board in 1941. In 1951, Selfridges was sold to Lewis’s chain of department stores by the Sears Group owned by Charles Clore.

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By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

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MASTHEAD Editors-in-Chief Manijeh Verghese Madeleine Kessler Elena Palacios Carral News Editors Archana Moorthy Isabella Castro Marques Editorial Team Abby Liu Tanvi Gupta Gossip Editors Derek Ho Bai Yusof Obituaries Eva Ibanez Fuertes Patricia Moericke Prieto Comic Strip/Horoscope Editors Medha Bansal Dhruv Khurana Advertisements Douglas Lee Nishigandha Sakhardande With special thanks to: Bodo Neuss Edward Bottoms Johanna Agerman Ross Stefan Jovanovic Katerina Scoufaridou Johannes Schick Natasha Sandmeier Catarina Sampaio Cruz Anny Stephanou Yasmin Verghese Uma Verghese Meha Verghese Stella Bella Steele Chee-Kit Lai Squire and Partners The National Theatre The BBC Angel Lara Moreira Henry Cleaver

The Reform Towe was sadly never b because its archite Richard Trevithic passed away in 18

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The best way to create a new city is to look back at the past and reinvent it.

er built ect ck 832.

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MANSION HOUSE SKYSCRAPER Prince Charles vs. Mies van der Rohe By Abby Liu & Tanvi Gupta

Prince Charles as the Nutcracker

What the Mansion House Skyscraper would have looked like had it been built

In 1967 German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe drew up a design for a new building at Mansion House, similar in aesthetic (if not scale) to his celebrated Seagram Building in Manhattan. Though delayed for many years, the project was all set to go ahead in the mid-1980s. The appalled Prince Charles inveigled upon Lord Palumbo, the project’s backer, to nix it, a tactic he has become rather familiar with. The Mies van der Rohe design was indeed abandoned, but it’s debatable whether the classicallyminded Price was happy with the playfully postmodern building by James Stirling that went up

in its stead: No. 1 Poultry. Where the cartoon cruiseliner of James Stirling’s No 1 Poultry now stands, jutting its cheeky prow towards the Bank of England. Labelled “a glass stump better suited to downtown Chicago” by the Prince, the tower would have been an intelligent use of the site, freeing up space at street level for a new public square. Imagined as a place for festivals and exhibitions, this piazza would have been framed by the grand facades of the surrounding buildings, opening up views of Mansion House, Lutyens’ Midland Bank and the Wren church of St Stephen Walbrook.

Mies cries over his “cracked” tower

The postmodern building by James Stirling at 1 Poultry that took its place is a slice of the postmodernist pizza that takes uses a pastiche of historical styles and colourful materials to generate architecture. The complete opposite of Mies’ vision.

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THE REFORM TOWER By Nishigandha Sakhardande & Douglas Lee

In any case, the monument provided an ideal advertisement for an engineer anxious to reestablish himself in nineteenthcentury England. The Reform Bill was a measure, which marked the end of Georgian LaissezFaire and beginning of a long period of optimistic reform. The structural engineer and architect of the Reform Tower, was a Cornish man named Richard Trevithick. He returned from South America via USA, where he had been acting as engineer for some particularly deep Peruvian silver mines. This experience of designing the Reform Tower seemed to widen his structural horizons.

The elevator mechanism of the Reform Tower

A National Monument in honour of the Reform A 1000’ high monument was designed to celebrate the Reform Act. It was a structure that was proposed to commemorate the Reform Bill of 1831.

The plan of the Reform Tower The news of the proposal of the Reform Tower spread far and wide through public social media like newspapers and other pamphlets. Richard hoped that the people would not just approve but also celebrate this monument in memory of the Reform Bill. The great measure of reform having become the law of the land, it was proposed to commemorate the event by

the erection of a stupendous column, exceeding in dimensions Cleopatra’s Needle, or Pompey’s Pillar and symbolical of the beauty, strength and unaffected grandeur of the British Constitution. In furtherance of this great object, a public meeting is proposed to be held, of which due notice will be given, to set on foot a subscription throughout the United Kingdom, limiting individual contributions to two guineas, but receiving the smallest sums in aid of the design. The following noblemen and gentlemen have signified their approbation of the measure:- His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, of Somerset, of Bedford,; the Right Honour able Earl of Morley, of Shrewsbury, of Darlington; Lord Stafford; Sir Francis Burdett, M.P., J.E. Denison, M.P., A.W. Robarts.

The grandeur of the Reform Tower is evident in this render, where the architect compares it to the pyramids of Giza as a scale reference. It also signifies the Egyptomania prevalent at the time.

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Details Of The Building

Structural Feasibility:

The Bottom: • 2” thick in 1500 pieces of 10 ft sq • An opening in the centre of each piece 6 ft in diameter, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the wind, and lightening the structure • Flanges on every edge on their inside to screw them together. • Each cast iron square would weight about 3 tons, all screwed together with sheet lead between all joints. • Whole weight would be about 6000 tons. • Proportion of cone to its height: same as general shape of spires in England

With the use of a circular foundation of 6 ft wide foundation, erecting this kind of structure seemed rather unfeasible.

Cost & Time of erection of the monument Time: • Use of a steam engine of 20 horse power • Lifts 1 square of iron in 10 mins • One square could be finished in 1 hour • 1500 squares would require < 6 months

Structural Stability: The wind loads would have been considerable and without any modifications in the initial design, the structural stability of the building was at doubt. Due to the death of Trevithick, the dream of building the Reform Tower collapsed. AND IT WAS UNPOPULAR BECAUSE…. The unusual form of the monument and its political reminders, caused interest to wane quickly in the project. Yet, it was an evidence of the spirit of structural pioneers “The golden tower rising through the mist and smoke of London was a glorious one and one which only the 19th century could have produced.”

Costs: • £7 a ton • Whole expense of completion £80,000 AND THEN THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE TOWER…..

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THE PRIMROSE HILL PYRAMID By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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The Babylon Times

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Sunday, 20 July 2014

A NEW CITY IS BORN By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Marques Castro

The new skyline of Babylon looks down into its reflected past - London

ven before the debris from the war could be cleared, architects and designers were busy at their drafting tables. After heavy speculation and thought, the creative minds of the city came to an agreement. A fusion of the past and present was decided as the final verdict for the rebuilding of our new city of Babylon. So what does this fusion mean to the city and most importantly the people of the city? What should we expect at the inauguration? As the leaders of the city work that out, we will update you on the varied processes of rebuilding. Every city needs some fundamental spaces. Since it is now the age of verticality and

compression, our architects and planners have taken the spaces which have an unprecedented horizontal history and made them vertical. The proposals were each approved by the most influential people within the city with Her Majesty at the helm. The ambitious young and the functional old have each had their say, with some of their decrees emerging alongside new governmental policies and laws. By the phase ‘fundamental space’, we are looking at the expanse that will dominate the city while creating a characteristic identity at the same time. Through building a new city we are also looking at reframing the needs and necessities in terms of 1

spaces and building typologies. The set of concepts and drawings that were revealed at the last press meeting was a bizarre amalgam. The architects are clearly redefining what the city needs in order to function and flourish. The proposals include a museum, an archive/cemetery hybrid and a surveillance tower apart from the conventional residential, commercial, leisure and Parliamentary spaces. The new skyline is to be dominated by gravity-defying, fluid, inverted, hybrid, panoramic and multi-elevation structures. The wild imagination of the quixotic architects is giving the engineers a run for their money as they turn ink on paper into an experiential reality.

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TOWER TALK: ARCHTREEISA By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Castro Marques

Above: The architects Archana & Isabella Below: The new tower, Archtreeisa

The process of designing and constructing this new exhibition tower for Babylon

The first tower to feature in this editorial debut of Tower Talk is the exhibition towerArchtreeisa. This weekly column will feature articles about the newly proposed towers for the city of Babylon. This gravity-defying tower designed by architect duoArchana Moorthy and Isabella Castro Marques is quite an exhibit in and of itself. Ask the designers of the tower and they say that rendering a sculptural quality was the major idea behind the project. They viewed the city as the stage and their building as an exhibition space, executing the primary function of their structure at a mega-cityscale. Inspired by artist Seon Ghi Bahk, the building was designed in collaboration with the artist. The conceptual principle used to derive it’s unique form was inversion. The building is an abstraction of a tree to symbolise 2

the lessening of nature’s importance with the advent of the industrial revolution. Remodeled from the 19th Century design for the Crystal Palace Tower, Archtreeisa uses the basic structural element of the arch and supporting column of the first modern building in the world to create a free standing suspension tower.

The view from the platform atop Archtreeisa with the exhibition towers poking above the deck to form a micro skyline

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A NEW TOWER IS BORN... By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

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HIGHER HOROSCOPES By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

THE GHERKENNIUM No more fights are seen in your the future. 2014 will be a good and peaceful year for you as human DNA begins to be a factor in your evolution. You will become a hybrid, combining the iconic forms of Foster’s Gherkin and the Millennium tower.

THE MANSION MIRROR Your quarrels will soon be finished and the year 2020 will be a constructive year for you. Don’t be sad as this time there are very high chances for your reflective surfaces to be realised. Just stay confident that the narcissistic views afforded by your tower will ensure your construction.

THE SELFRIDGES MAZE 2017 will be a lucky year for you as earlier there were some financial issues, but this time there will be none. Consumerism will reign supreme as a unique place for people to shop will achieve success.

TOWER X 1831 was a constructive year while 1832 was a disastrous one. Now, 2014 will again be a productive year for you. History is an important part of your life. You will have different faces that each serve to protect the past, present and future existence of Babylon.

ARCHTREEISA You faced problems in 1861 due to a lack of technology but thankfully that will no longer be an issue. There will be new technologies alongside ideas to help build you to great heights in 2014. Nature will be a great inspiration to your form and materiality.

THE DIMARYP While once you were whole you are now split in two. Dividing your time between the corporal forms of the dead and the papery sheaves of forgotten ideas, your mirrored form seems to float at once mysterious and solid, light and heavy, but always related to death.

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THE PLUG-IN TOWER & THE MAZE OF SELFRIDGE By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

The Idea of Plug-In Tower

From Tower to Room

The Maze of Selfridges

The idea of turning the Selfridges Tower into a PlugIn Tower is inspired by the Archigram proposal for a Plugin City tht was designed by Peter Cook in 1964. The city is portrayed as a mega-structure without any buildings. With a massive framework, modular components could plug into the slot of this huge machine. In the new proposal, the Selfridges building is dismantled into fragments and reassembled through sectional slices. The signature elevation of the Selfridges building is preserved. The second layer is the skyline of the city of London. The idea is to create a combination of scales so that it starts to blur the boundary between the city scale and the tower scale.

The third and fourth layer of the sectional slices are inspired by the unbuilt Selfridges Tower. In this renovated version of Selfridgea, the unbuilt tower is hidden inside the building so that it can transform into a vertical tower, allowing the building to expand and grow in size. The concept of ‘plug-in’ is also manifested at the room scale. Thus, different department stores are now able to plug into different spaces at different times. Hence, the layout of the Selfridges constantly changes on a periodic basis. Horizontals become verticals, while shops and building pieces plug-in and plug-out.

In the new Selfridges building, each of the small compartments are connected to one another through staircases. Some of these stairs don’t form a continuous pathway but instead create an optical illusion through which the people inside would constantly experience the feeling of being lost. Eventually, the Selfridge building transforms from a regular department store into a giant maze.

Plug-In City

The Maze of Selfridge Tower

The Tower Model in progress

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WARNING WATCH OUT !!! Recently, there was a rumour in the city of Babylon that a large number of mummies escaped from the secret chamber hidden inside the Primrose Pyramid ... Please contact the R.I.P. Department ASAP if anyone sees any suspicious paper-wrapped creatures hiding in the shadows of the city. By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

Sherlock, do you have any clues on the mysterious outbreak of mummies from the Pyramid?

Mate, to be honest, I think Dr. Moriarty is definitely involved in this ‘Mummy Incident’. But I need to pay a visit to the pyramid to collect more evidence.

I have a feeling the mummies might be hiding inside the Reform Tower. Why do you think so?

Think about it. The Reform Tower is the Headquarters of the Government of Babylon. The most dangerous place is always the safest place to hide, don’t you think so?

Oh well, just pray that we don’t need to jump off the train thus time!

Very true, that what the evil Dr. Moriarty wants us to think . Do you remember if Dr. Moriarty’s cousin is the curator of the exhbition hall of the Crystal Palace? The mummies could be hiding inside the Exhibition of Ancient Civilization. Very wisely, they might be hidden inside the coffin behind the window of exhbition glass.

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THE MANSION MIRROR By Abby Liu & Tanvi Gupta

The initial construction phase of the new mansion mirror tower

The new Mansion House Mirror tower is our proposal on the location of the existing No.1 Poultry building by James Sterling. This tower stands 88 metres high and is the continuation of Ludwig Mies van der Roheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s idea of a modern building in the beautiful city of London. The building starts of being similar in aesthetics to his famous Seagram building in Manhattan.However, it soon transforms into a more postmodern style with a rotating tower reflecting itself through its base creating a contrast between the modern and post modern elements of the building.

This picture depicts a typical facade of Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe building and resembles the Seagram building in New York.

The upper part of the tower is the continuation of the base of the building which starts from within the building, making it a

mirror of the base. The mirror plinth of the building reflects the building creating a vertical infinite mirage.

The new Mansion House Mirror tower sits on the same site where the No.1 Poultry by James Sterling now stands and where it was originally proposed.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR By Abby Liu & Tanvi Gupta

MILLENNIUM TOWER Millionaire Tower was faced with a tough player in boxing, the Gherkin. Although the Gherkin is shorter than the Millionaire Tower, he is famous for his unpredictable punch. Gherkin leapt in with a beautiful left hook to Millionaire Tower’s head and a win by a knockout. - Anonym from Unit 1

SELFRIDGES TOWER The yellow bags are too shiny, I get sunburn after shopping in Selfridges every time.. - Queen Elizabeth II

MANSION HOUSE SKYSCRAPER Modernism is unbearable, this tower is a glass stump better suited to downtown Chicago. - Prince Charles

TRANSFORM TOWER I think I could provide a little assistance on the structural design if I was born earlier. - Albert Einstein

THE PYRAMID I would like to reveal a piece of highly confidential information - some scientists were creating Frankenstein out of dead bodies inside the Pyramid. - Frankenstein Monster

CRYSTAL PALACE TOWER The flashy building exhibits everything. Is there any privacy? - David Beckham

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“DARK KNIGHT” GUARDS BABYLON By Nishigandha Sakhardande & Douglas Lee

Babylon has gone through a dark phase. The War of the Architects has been intense and life-taking. The people of Babylon seem to be demanding a monument to commemorate the bravery that the citizens have used in the past week to survive this war. Talks about constructing a new monument for the City of Babylon have been constantly abuzz. The architect of the project wishes that this new monument will be the symbol of Babylon. A monument named Tower X is proposed to be constructed in the heart of the city. It is speculated that this tower would be 1000 feet tall rising over most buildings in Babylon and standing tall to guard the city. This is expected to be a monument that would be a reflection of the past and a prediction of the future. The monument would look like a pyramid-shaped obelisk. The four facades of the monument would symbolise different elements that have greatly contributed in the history of Babylon. One side of the monument is speculated to have the appearance of the Reform Tower: its original inspiration. One side would have a mirror that would reflect the whole city of Babylon, accomodating the current state of the city in it. One side would celebrate the Reform Tower in terms of its purpose – to commemorate the Reform Bill, which should a transition of one governance into another. This tower would exhibit reform in architectural styles that have been prevalent since ancient times until the most modern

Mysterious figure flies over Babylon

architectural language. Starting from the base of the facade being one similar to the Greek Parthenon and moving up towards newer and more commonly used styles like brickwork, concretework, massive iron and glazing techniques, deconstructivism; this monument facade ends with the most modern free flowing and fluid architectural techniques that have crossed the barrier of rigidity. Finally, one side of the monument would be a lighthouse which would help keep track of difficult situations in the city. Also, this lighthouse would be a landmark for those who require orientation during travel. What seems to be a monument on the outside,actually is hypothesised to be operational on the inside. The destructive architects’ war was put to peace last week by a vigilante who now uses the monument as his den and operates from the high reaches of the building. A highly technologically advanced interior seems to help the vigilante guard the city of Babylon. Babylon city streets, which turned into vicious

urban scenes of urban carnage last week as architects fought for dominance in the 21st century, now seem to sleep quietly after the saviour has arrived. A man reported seeing the vigilante at the top of the Monument, from his residence. The witness was petrified but amazed by the idea of seeing he who the city has now nick-named “Super Architect”. Two days after this report, some other citizens who stayed up late into the night were reportedly glad and relieved that the city is now in safe hands. This Super Architect is presumed to step out from his den only while the city sleeps. He is claimed to be the Guardian of the city and citizens state that the monument is not just for the beauty of the city but also functions as a surveillance tower for Babylon, so the city can sleep peacefully.

Mysterious figure flies over Babylon

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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PRINCE CHARLES:

LOVER OF ARCHITECTURE HATER OF MODERNISM

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The Babylon Times

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Friday, 25 July 2014

THE CITY IN THE ROOM By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Marques Castro

The cyclical life of the city: Babylon, in good times and in bad, the room preserves every condition of the city

abylon stands on the place where a very famous city once stood. The creative war that ransacked the Victorian city of London paved way for the modern city of Babylon, a city that is far superior to its predecessor in many ways. While London transformed into Babylon, it shed some of its flaws and took on some elements that were the envy of the world. The world gasped and awed at the superiority of this new cityplanned and designed by some of the greatest and artistic minds in the world. This superpower city was said to be the major aspiration for other nations. While we were trying to protect the city from the hands of outside evil, we overlooked a few inside details.

The people jointly agreed on altering the policies of the government. We hoped that the new policies would help. We hoped for a better city, a better living and a better society. We have however missed a few clauses. Our trust in our leaders or rather the designers of our new city that we have been so proud of has hazed our vision and we have forgotten to read in between the lines. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the genius of the city designers lies. The campaign and planning was so good that it is impossible to identify a flaw. However, to ensure that the city of Babylon lingers on despite its unexpected death, the architects have come with a very simple solution. 1

A room is defined as a distinguishable space in a structure commonly separated by a door. Every space has a character that distinguishes it from the rest of the structure but from where does the space take that character from. The architects whose works dominate our new city have come together to create a space what they call the room in the city. They have tried to recreate the magic of the dying city that arranges millions of miles into a one space thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little more than a few square metres. Drawing inspiration from the towers designed by the architects, they have invented a scheme that will allow you to experience the genius of their design. Flip over to find out more.

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A MAN IN THE CITY By Archana Moorthy & Isabella Castro Marques

The relationship of the inhabitant to the scalar sapces of Room and City

As our vision narrows down from the city we find ourselves in the confines of a four walled structure separated by a door. As the complexity of the city unfolds into its most fundamental element, the room comes into the picture. The utopian city of Babylon with its towering structures and tangled networks undermines the common man and makes him feel powerless. As the structures puncture the skyline of Babylon, man tries to escape the city as the scale gives him a sense of alienation from his own habitat. In pursuit of this escape, he moves to tower but the Avantgarde robot of a building scares him more. The intricacy of its mechanism is comparable to the city in multiple ways. He finally retires to his room where he finds solace. He turns to the window for company.

The different types of glass in the frame help him perceive the city he is trying to escape, the aura of his mind being the deciding factor. As the wind gushes in, so does his agitation. His

momentary refuge disappears as the windows of his little room open up to reveal the city, the city he desperately wants to escape. His inner agitation returns and tells him that’s it’s another day and another race.

The window in the room - protecting the inhabitant from the city outside.

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SUPERARCHITECT vs. BABYLON

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By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

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HORROR-SCOPES By Medha Bansal & Dhruv Khurana

THE DARK KNIGHT (Reform Tower) As the title suggests, like in 1832, some disastrous thing will take place again in 2016. Be strong so that you can withstand all the tragic things that may happen. Be wary of being filled with your own importance. It could lead to your downfall.

THE HAUNTED MANSION (Mansion House Skyscraper) Just as how in 1980s there was a problematic time for you, so too in 2022 a disaster may occur. Be careful with your reflective surfaces as they may create problems that seem small at first but could soon have a larger impact on your surroundings.

THE SELFRIGHTERS (Selfridges Tower) You achieved lots of success in 2017 but now you have some danger approaching in your near future. Be safe and take care of yourself. Safeguard your belongings in a chest to remake and remember the city should it cease to exist.

DEATHARIUM (Millennium Tower) As a hybrid you were successful but you may have some threats in 2017 from someone very famous who will soon become a big problem in your life. Be strong and hope your hybrid forms can adapt to the city should it be rebuilt once again.

THE SCARY PALACE (Crystal Palace Tower) Previously you werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t built because of a lack of technology but in 2014 you did well by being inspired by nature. In 2017 there is a chance you will be destroyed based on threats from someone you believed was a friend but is now a foe. Keep your eyes open.

TRIANGLE OF DEATH (Primrose Hill Pyramid) In year 2020 you may receive many new occupants to store within your walls. Be prepared to welcome them and to expand to encompass the city itself. Your importance will increase significantly in the event of a tumultous period for the city.

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THE DRAWER OF MEMORIES By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

In front of four columns, I saw a small chest of drawers set atop of the remnants of the warfare. It stood out naturally like a sculpture as it was the only object that survived the desolation of the city. The drawer seemed to have a weird attractive force, tempting me to walk towards and open it. ‘ What is stored inside this Pandora’ss Box?’ I wondered...

The Selfridges Tower

Made in Babylon

With fear and curiosity, I cautiously pulled out the first compartment of the drawer ... ‘What is stored inside this pandora’s box?’ I wondered again. ‘Oh, it looks like the model of the Selfridges Tower!’ The facade looked familiar to the one within which I used to shop in Babylon in the good old days. Sliding out of the elevation of Selfridges, I saw fragments of department stores inside different tiny rooms. Strangely, the Selfridges department store no longer sold daily necessities, but instead had become a series of display stores, exhibiting the remnants of the unbuilt towers in London: the coffins from the Primrose Hill Pyramid, the broken mirrored glass from Mansion House, the window frames from the Crystal Palace, the bricks from the Reform Tower, and even the former shoe department from the Selfridges Tower.

After I opened the first compartment, I couldn’t stop myself from sliding out the second one. The second drawer was filled with tokens, postcards and many other souvenirs that were all marked ‘Made in Babylon’ with the logo of this legendary city. I had a strong feeling that the owner of the drawer was definitely a patriot, given the collection it contained. All of the items were carefully selected and they were like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle portraying the glorious days and joyful memories of the Babylonians, from the reconstruction of the Six Unbuilt Architectures, the formation of the city, the opening of the Babylon Cable Car, the establishment of the Utopian City Council and most importantly, the sense of belonging to Babylon. It was like stumbling upon a box of forgotten memories.

Memory Tank

‘Who is the owner of these drawers?’ The question suddenly rushed through my mind. ‘Is it possible that this chest could belong to the Superarchitect, the hero and guardian of Babylon ?’ I gently slid out the last compartment. To my surprise, it was filled with small glass bottles wrapped with the yellow Selfridges ribbon. ‘Why would the owner store some empty bottles in this drawer?’ I pondered. The bottle seemd to be filled with some glowing liquid illuminating its immediate surroundings with different colours. Pop ! I opened one of the bottles. The image of the Superarchitect being elected as the President of Babylon suddenly flooded into my mind. The 3rd drawer’s contents were a revelation. The bottles comprised the memory tank of the SuperArchitect, storing fragments of important moments and joyful memories in his life.

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By Derek Ho & Bai Yusof

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MASTHEAD Editors-in-Chief Manijeh Verghese Madeleine Kessler Elena Palacios Carral News Editors Archana Moorthy Isabella Castro Marques Editorial Team Abby Liu Tanvi Gupta Gossip Editors Derek Ho Bai Yusof Obituaries Eva Ibanez Fuertes Patricia Moericke Prieto Comic Strip/Horoscope Editors Medha Bansal Dhruv Khurana Advertisements Douglas Lee Nishigandha Sakhardande With special thanks to: Bodo Neuss Edward Bottoms Johanna Agerman Ross Stefan Jovanovic Katerina Scoufaridou Johannes Schick Natasha Sandmeier Catarina Sampaio Cruz Anny Stephanou Madelon Vriesendorp Yasmin Verghese Uma Verghese Meha Verghese Stella Bella Steele Chee-Kit Lai William Fausset Robert Busher Squire and Partners Online Repro

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PRIDE: 1 OF THE 7 DEADLY SINS By Abby Liu & Tanvi Gupta

‘The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things’ by Hieronymus Bosch

The door leading to the room symbolises the construction phases of the stage set from the city to the towers and then leading to the room. The main purpose of the door is to open views of the room and the city, the same reason why the Mansion House skyscraper was being designed. Sometimes doors are just a bit of fun. Sometimes they are a matter of life and death. Certainly, no architectural feature tickles the imagination as much as hidden doors leading to secret rooms. The door focuses on the room and how to conceal the fact that it is a door. For all of our history, when

“I think I can make a better city of Babylon!” muses the SuperArchitect

people think they see themselves, but really they are always seeing themselves reflected backwards. However, as it turns out, the backward images and person we see in a mirror are profoundly different from what is real. The backwardsness distorts not just our features, but the information in our faces and personalities as well. No wonder we see ourselves differently than others see us! A mirror is more than an amazing novelty. We are excited to promote it as a new source of awareness and enlightenment! In contrast, the incorrect view seen in a traditional mirror can be major source of self-doubt and self-criticism - simply because it is not the

“real you” when your eyes meet in the mirror. How can you understand yourself, your emotions and your expressions when there is such distortion?

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR By Abby Liu & Tanvi Gupta

WE LIKE THE AA SUMMER SCHOOL

ESHU AT THE FORMAT!

PRINCE CHARLES - A GOOD CHESS PLAYER

Hey, we really had fun in the AA summer school, check it out~ Work hard & play hard, Like! - Unit 1

The highlight of the FORMAT series was when Madelon taught us how to make a cute Eshu in her part of the presentation. Thanks to Madelon, we can now make the Eshu using just a toilet paper roll at home! - Lina Bo Bardi

Prince Charles finally wins the fight over me by playing some tricks on my Client :( :( :(. It’s fine though since he will live to regret what he has done. He is definitely the villain of Babylon but revenge will be ours. - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

GUIDELINE FOR ESHU MAKING

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“DARK KNIGHT” OF BABYLON TURNS DARK, CITY WORRIED By Nishigandha Sakhardande & Douglas Lee

The most spoken-about and popularly loved vigilante of Babylon, SuperArchitect is reportedly said to have been turned. He has been seen in suspicious situations. Citizens of Babylon fear that their only ray of hope will betray them in the coming future. Some speculate that he will switch from being saviour to being a mastermind behind what is expected to be the worst phase of Babylon. A journalist of the Babylon Times was found quoting, ‘The city of Babylon seems to have settled down after the Architect’s War and is extremely happy that the SuperArchitect saved it. Calmness and serenity surround the streets of Babylon. Citizens of Babylon are doing their work with a free mind knowing that their hero would be available for their rescue in times of distress. The SuperArchitect was seen standing at the window of his room and looking at the city. He seemed quite upset and citizens were unable to claim

what made the vigilante worry.’ In the strong winds that hit the city on the evening of Thursday, a diary of the vigilante was discovered flying out of his room in his absence. The citizens ran to rescue it and read through his notes. The content seemed to disappoint the citizens and a fear spread among them almost instantly. In an interview with one of the readers of the diary, information of the past tours and itineraries of the SuperArchitect were found. The content revealed that the SuperArchitect had been paying trips to other cities and micronations. “I am bored. I am so bored of looking out of the window constantly. I feel frustrated that the city of Babylon and its citizens need constant babysitting. The other cities have so much life. There is constant activity in them. I think I should make myself busy again. But I’m not the kind to do a job. What if the citizens recognise me! No! I can’t take the risk of revealing who I am. I don’t 12

want to spend most of my life in this room wondering which part of the city needs my help.” The content of the diary spread quick and wide and the citizens began to feel insecured. The diary also read “ I should probably create problems in peoples’ lives and have myself solve them. This way I stay busy all the time. This way no one would guess it were me who caused the destruction and I would still be a hero in the eyes of the Babylonians. Destruction! It was what made you like me! And it is what will make you like me more! Hihihahaha!” The citizens have begun to wonder what fate has in store for them. The ambitions of the SuperArchitect do not seem very positive. The Babylonians have decided to gear up against the upcoming event, except that they are unaware what would be the nature of this mega catastrophe. Will it bring more happiness to the city? Or would it result in the end of Babylon. Stay tuned for more news.

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Friday, 25 July 2014

By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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Friday, 25 July 2014 By Eva Ibanez Fuertes & Patricia Moericke Prieto

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Friday, 25 July 2014

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