Parafictions of the Glitched Estate in Central Hill

This paper discusses the context to a South London housing estate, Central Hill, as a ‘parafiction’ of the ‘soft city’ - two terms in cultural studies that describe alternate but familiar realities. Both are constructed from factual fragments that are unrelated, with their stories presented back to us in novel immersive film-based media.

Our postgraduate unit, Arena, at the Birmingham School of Architecture, has explored both terms through performative events. We use architectural data intertwined with archival artefacts to reveal tension between competing aesthetics and narratives, and in tandem with the socio-cultural conditions captured by pop culture today.

To coincide with a group exhibition, Horror in the Modernist Block at Ikon, an established international arts institution, the Arena unit responded to the curatorial theme presenting “new and recent works by contemporary artists that experiment in the aesthetics of architectural modernism and unpack the often-contested legacies of modernist buildings.”
The ‘Glitched Estate’ was presented as a docu-short film, with a performance alongside artists’ video work, capturing the dual narratives between the local authorities, community residents and activists concerning Central Hill’s ongoing conversation as at-risk of demolition. Designed by Rosemary Stjernstedt, a pioneering architect as the first woman to reach senior grade at London County Council.

The docu-short format becomes the element that enables the parafiction around Central Hill – juxtaposing competing ideas of the redevelopment of a well-loved but contentious landmark. The architecture provides the discussion of social context - and to read the building’s legacy in today environment. This contemporary process is a new instrument in our information age to draw an indistinguishable line between fiction and reality, advocating modernism’s significance to a broader audience in an unconventional gallery setting.