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5.4  ARCHITECTURE  STUDENT  PARTICIPANT  04| STYLIST    

Figure  32  –  Route  describing  the  architecture  student  participant  04’s  tour  of  the  city.  

adelphi  advertising  again  art  attending  back  bazooka  been  begins  bluecoat  briefly  brownlow  

building  

christmas  

down  

heads  

off  

park  

points  

shop  

staircase  

towards  

Figure  33  –  word  cloud  to  illustrate  the  most  used  terms  to  describe  participant  04’s  interactions   with  the  surrounding  environment  during  the  tour.  

Stylist   is   a   fourth   year   architecture   at   the   University   of   Liverpool’s   school   of   architecture  

and  is  enrolled  on  the  master’s  course.  Prior  to  starting  the  course  he  had  completed  an   undergraduate   course   in   architecture   at   another   university.   Stylist   discusses   how   his   decision  to  move  to  Liverpool  from  Manchester  was  largely  influenced  by  experiences  that   he  had  when  he  had  previously  visited  which  were  based  around  the  city’s  vibrant  nightlife.   Consequently,  Stylist’s  tour  around  Liverpool  largely  involved  retracing  the  spaces  that  for   him,  contributed  to  Liverpool’s  identity  as  a  destination  for  clubbing  culture.    

Stylist’s   complex   tour   was   animated   with   a   diverse   range   of   anecdotal   narratives  

that  illustrated  the  systems  of  leisure  that  the  city  consisted  of.  It  was  evident  from  the  tour   exercise   that   Stylist   read   the   city   predominately   in   terms   of   ever–shifting   social   relationships.  This  complex  web  of  consumer  based  personal  interactions  contrasted  with   the  routes  taken  by  traceurs,  as  the  emphasis  was  on  locating  the  spaces  of  busyness  and   following  excitement  created  by  the  flow  of  the  crowd.  Consequently,  when  speaking  of  his   preferred  form  of  movement  through  the  city  he  explains,    

‘I  always  like  to  walk  through  the  place  with  the  most  activity,  that’s  usually  the  city   centre.   I   like   all   the   bright   lights,   all   the   shops;   all   the   things   like   that.   And   I   see   people  walking  around.  Some  people  would  prefer  a  more  scenic  route  but  I  prefer   a  route  that’s  got  the  most  energy.’    

Figure  34  –  A  view  of  Church  Street,  an  area  that  Stylist  commented  had  'the  most  energy'.                         (23,  L  on  map).  

of   the   culture   that   is   dominated   by   consumer   based   relationships.  Stylist   pays   particular   attention   to   describing   how   important   fashion   is   to   him,   which   again   suggests   how   important   the   body   is   a   signifier   for   being  in   place   in   the   city.  Stylist’s   comments   on   the   financial  cost  of  maintaining  a  look  that  is  in  keeping  with  current  clothing  trends,  highlights   the   economic   pressure   that   contemporary   culture   places   upon   individuals   in   creating   a   public  identity.  It  is  therefore  also  worth  considering  the  significance  of  parkour  as  a  tactic   of   avoiding   this   pressure,   as   through   the   discipline   the   dynamics   of   the   body   are   valued   over  its  static  visual  aesthetic.32    

 The  routes  that  are  navigated  throughout  the  tour  focus  on  the  negotiation  of  the  

Liverpool  One  shopping  precinct.  Stylist  speaks  of  its  aesthetic  virtues  and  expresses  how  

the  newness  of  this  area  appeals  to  his  tastes.  Additionally,  Stylist  is  keen  to  demonstrate   his  awareness  of  the  negative  visual  characteristics  of  the  cityscape  and  highlights  a  number   of   buildings   that   he   finds   visually   unattractive.   In   addition   to   the   references   made   to   his   experiences   of   the   city,  Stylist’s   tour   is   punctuated   with   a   series   of   events   that   give   it   a   unique  narrative  of  its  own.    

32  _{The  questioning  of  cultural  practices  that  are  orientated  around  the  conspicuous  consumption  of}  

products  with  low  use  value  but  high  symbolic  value  is  of  course  nothing  new,  (see  for  example  the   work  on  the  leisure  class  and  conspicuous  consumption  by  the  economist  and  sociologist  Thorsten   Veblen  (1994)).  

Figure  35  –  The  staircase  in  Liverpool  One  that  Stylist  playfully  engaged  with  (27,  J  on  map).    

Stylist  displays  a  concerted  effort  to  reveal  the  potential  of  a  public  staircase  found  within  

the  Liverpool  One  shopping  precinct  by  running  up  it  whilst  the  point  of  view  of  the  camera   follows   him   from   the   moving   position   of   an   escalator.   In  doing   so,  Stylist   plays   with   the   dialogue   that   exists   between   the   two   movement   systems,   that   of   his   own   body   which   is   able   to   move   freely   and   spontaneously,   and   that   of   the   escalator   which   is   fixed   to   a   predetermined   mechanical   system.   The   unnecessary   nature   of   this   movement   is   reminiscent  of  the  Situationist’s  dérives,  which  sought  to  highlight  how  playful  drifts  along   ad–hoc   routes   offered   an   opportunity   to   challenge   increasingly   controlled   systems   of   mobility.  Stylist’s  journey  conveys  a  lack  of  inhibition  with  regards  to  questioning  how  the   environment   ought   to   be   used,   paralleling   that   of   the   traceurs   journeys.   Consequently,   I   would   argue   that  Stylist’s   movement   through   the   city   environment   reflects   a   degree   of   ambivalence  towards  the  notion  of  a  governing  urban  code.  Stylist’s  conflicting  desires  to   challenge  the  functionality  of  everyday  surroundings  whilst  at  the  same  time  being  a  part  of   their   meaning,   demonstrates   how   the   idea   of   an  urban   code  is   inextricably   linked   to   the   notions  of  being  in  and  out  of  place.33    

33  _{Stylist’s  interest  in  deviating  from  normative  behaviour  could  be  seen  as  a  way  of  revealing  the}  

urban   code   in   a   manner   similar   to   how   a   study   of   tourism   has   the   ability   to   identify   significant   unrecognised  characteristics  of  the  ‘normal  society’  discussed  by  the  sociologist  John  Urry  (2002).  

Path   Node   Edge   District     Landmark   Hope  Street   Mount  Pleasant     Great  Orphan   Street   Bold  Street   Keys  Court   Dock  Road     Metropolitan   Cathedral     Lyceum  Building     Law  courts   Liverpool  One   Shopping  district    

JMU  building  (under   construction)   John  Foster  building   Anglican  Cathedral   JMU  design   academy   Wellington  Rooms   Radiocity  tower   Chavasse  Park   Pavilion   Mann  Island  

Table  8  –  Urban  elements  significant  to  Architecture  Student  Participant  4