O is an exhibition showcasing a collaboration between University of East London’s (UEL) BSc Architecture students and London College of Communication’s (LCC) BA Design for Art Direction students. As part of the curatorial team, I was involved in the thematic development of the exhibition and responsible for its visiual identity, in print and space.

he exhibition O – referring to the centre of the Cartesian coordinate system – draws attention to the computer-aided design practices in the fields of architecture and graphic design. This visual system, which often manifests through the organisational form of the grid, is deployed as a model in which questions alluding to topics of gentrification and urban regeneration are triggered. An alternative mode of interacting with grids is introduced, renouncing the conformity implied by this system. Attention is drawn to the grid as a site of construction, in an effort to challenge its use and promote critically informed approaches.

O touches on social and ethical questions related to urban development, aesthetic theory, the material conditions, and spatial relationships produced in the built environment.The visual identity is based on the theme of construction and questions the conformitive use of grids by various design principles, and aims to bring forth a dialogue about its relationship to the scripting of different visions of the city, to capital and to communities.