Elevating sounds arts to a new level

Students from LCC’s BA Sound Arts course worked on the lifts at a new co-living development aimed at creatives in Canary Wharf.

Living in London can be tough, particularly for those people in the creative industries who need both a place to live and space in which to collaborate on projects with others.

The need for both is recognised in a new building in Canary Wharf by The Collective, a property company which specialises in co-living developments, offering creatives the room to both live alongside and share ideas with like-minded individuals on a day-to-day basis. 

Its CEO, Reza Merchant, noticed that flexible developments of this nature were in short supply whilst he was studying at the London School of Economics, and became inspired by the concept of co-living and its advantages over traditional flat-shares. 

Tenants typically lease en suite rooms and then also have access to lounges, kitchens and other communal spaces, while amenities such as cleaning services are included in the rent, as are utility charges and wi-fi.

According to Olivia Plummer, The Collective’s partnerships manager, the company is “re-imagining renting with co-living communities in the city. It builds and activates spaces designed to connect and inspire.”

Tenants are referred to as members, and their monthly bill also includes access to a programme of events – but how to build the notions of creativity and being inspired into the very fabric of the building?

Olivia said: “In the spirit of artistic collaboration, we asked local creatives – each making waves in their individual fields – to design pieces for our latest Canary Wharf space.”

These local creatives were given the option to choose their favourite space within the building and asked to fill it with colour, texture, soul and purpose, all coming together to evoke emotions.

Some of their work even invites visitors to contribute their own ideas, adding a greater sense of community and belonging.

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Blue (Surprise), Green (Trust) and Orange (Anticipation). There is also an additional lift with the colour yellow for joy

When it came to the lifts at the new building, their visual appearance was designed by the Alexander Owen Architecture practice, with each based on an emotion. Sound was deemed to be an important part of the experience of using the lifts, and a further collaboration was established with London College of Communication.

Olivia explained: “Following a tour of the Canary Wharf space, we asked LCC Sound Arts students to present their ideas in response to the lift artwork and associated emotions. We chose the work of Yifeat Ziv and Marco Tarantino, whose concept included the human voice and heartbeats, leaving space for speech and using visuals as graphic scores.”

The idea is that the use of colour and sound will provoke emotion in each elevator, creating an immersive experience for members of The Collective.

The art and sound installations were due to go ‘live’ in the lifts in January 2020 and feature for an initial period of six months.

Olivia added: “We chose to collaborate with LCC as we wanted to support and work with young talent, giving them a platform and voice. This project has been the first in what we hope will be an ongoing relationship.”

The Collective’s future projects will continue to involve the creative arts. Depending on location, demographics and scale, it plans to looking at supporting all aspects of design and creativity, from spoken word to 3D printing and more immersive installations. 

For further information on Canary Wharf development, visit The Collective’s website.