Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/02/20/artist-transforms-london-garag.html
…
4 Likes
Reminds me this :
3 Likes
I mean, he’d be living in an illegally-converted garden shed anyway, why not cover it in spangles?
4 Likes
Yes, Andrea said as much:
I’ve been in a few places like this, but I see them much differently after the Ghost Ship fire.
But definitely i don’t think that what the artist did with the space is “cute”. I do appreciate people remaking unlikely spaces to use for other things, including a living space, but this just looks like a pile of trash and liability.
3 Likes
These types sometimes fancy themselves amateur electricians. I hope that’s not the case here.
5 Likes
The important differences between this and this and the site of the Ghost Ship fire are simply the number of people and the size of the space. If you don’t have more than 10 people in there and none of ‘em are more than 20’ from an exit, the risk for loss of life is greatly reduced, A second exit in the opposite corner from the existing exit is probably a good idea in a firetrap like this, though.
1 Like
it is charming
Yeah, if this building has two exits and smoke alarms, it may well meet UK building regulations. People think fire safety means fireproof buildings, but there’s no such thing; fire safety means being able to get out of a building when it catches fire.
This doesn’t look like the type of building where people die in fires, although it may well be the type of building where someone loses a lot of money to fire.
3 Likes
After discovering that the UK permits high rises with only one stairwell, I’m afraid that I don’t put much stock in UK fire regulations.
6 Likes
I’m afraid i don’t either after Grenfell
I reckon we’ve passed some critical point where living visual artists receive more recognition as property developers (improving their homes and/or the areas they live in) than they receive for their artistic output.
Artist’s home has become a concept in its own right.
I think I’d want something at floor level (in case I’m crawling under smoke) to point out where the exits are, as well.
UK building standards aren’t retroactive, so until you build an extension, your hundred year old house will be pretty much as much of a deathtrap as it was when it was built (although less gas lighting and more fire alarms help).
(About 20% of UK housing stock is over a hundred years old)
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
