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# A 10,000 year development for London
- URL: https://www.protein.xyz/a-10-000-year-development-for-london/
- Published: 2015-07-14T10:50:00.000Z
- Updated: 2016-06-11T21:59:07.000Z
- Description: London's housing crisis is out of control. Alice Theodorou's forward-thinking project could be the answer
- Author: Maks Fus Mickiewicz
- Tags: Seeds, Art & Design, #protein, #Import 2024-06-11 13:25

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**London's housing crisis is out of control. Alice Theodorou's forward-thinking project could be the answer**  
  
In London housing costs are increasing exponentially. Every day they become ever more unaffordable with current wages. The 2014 average rise of £81,000 for London property is unsustainable both for the city and its inhabitants. The Mount Pleasant mail centre in Farringdon has become a symbol of this perceived disregard for London residents, with 700 homes being erected after intervention from Boris Johnson; only a quarter of which are deemed “affordable” on the former public owned site.   
  
“Mayor Boris Johnson’s recent abuse of his planning power is an insult to what proclaims to be a democratic system,” states RCA student [Alice Theodorou](http://www.rca.ac.uk/students/alice-theodorou/?ref=protein.xyz). “As the capital continues to undergo widespread redevelopment as a result of the long-anticipated Crossrail link, the need to question the short-term, financially driven strategies employed by developers has become of paramount importance.” Her response to the fortress-like development is a radical alternative: a site that incorporates long-term thinking – 10,000 years in advance.   
  
Her project, [The Future Will Just Have to Wait](http://www.rca.ac.uk/students/alice-theodorou/?ref=protein.xyz), is a proposal for the Mount Pleasant site that considers the challenges London will face. These include: population growth and then decline, rising sea levels, stricter energy targets, future space exploration and language obsolescence. The design incorporates classical figures of caryatids and atlantes, acting as a reminder of our own human form and temporality, which Theodorou believes is a strategy to increase the buildings longevity.   
  
Recently we've been seeing a number of designers and influencers working towards a long-term sustainable future, from fitness brand [Adidas' wavy kicks](https://www.prote.in/en/feed/2015/07/adidas-create-trainers-from-ocean-plastic?ref=protein.xyz), made from recycled ocean plastic, to [Kovert Design's mission to bring mindfulness to corporate culture](https://www.prote.in/en/profiles/kovert-design?ref=protein.xyz). Look out for more on the Slow trend in the upcoming issue of *[Protein Journal](http://store.prote.in/?ref=protein.xyz)*.

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