Diversion aims to capture the essence of parallel worlds within Fort Lane through science fiction qualities such as reflection, materiality and tone.
With a changing scale that mimics the dip of the site, the installation is made up of a series of half-door like panels that sit perpendicular to a main wall running the length of the lane on either side. Materiality was considered to capture a sense of dark reflection, playing on the drama and unknown nature of sci-fi but also to mimic the existing uneasy feel of the site. The angled walls work to reflect and enhance the scale of the exisiting site and bring all the elements that may otherwise go unnoticed down to a personal level. The design offers variation from the routine city scape and creates places to rest that feel slightly removed from the surroundings. At night the site becomes alive and vibrant through the addition of solar charged LEDs.
Fort Lane is a service lane that is used predominantly as a thoroughfare by pedestrians and a short cut for cars. There are several restaurants, bars and clubs in the surrounding buildings but other than that the lane isn’t somewhere people stop to spend time. Part of the intention for this design was to create something that interrupts or diverts the flow of movement for pedestrians and invites moments of pause and reflection. To really encourage this the panels are set in such a way that you have to move around or between them.
The full length of the site was utilised to emphasise the drama of the long, narrow space. In sci-fi reflection is often used to create the illusion of infinity spaces. The length of Fort Lane allowed the opportunity to introduce this installation in a similar way and the reflective walls down either side make the width of the space feel greater but also create a sense of infinity as you move through. Additionally as pedestrians move through the site there will be a reflection on either side, walking with them. I think of these as being parallel versions of the person. This overall idea of parallel worlds was inspired by the image sequence captured using a cinematic device made of angled mirrors. The images create the sense of viewing the lane from several perspectives at once, or rather several realities.
Diversion also creates a new outlook for the businesses along the lane. Instead of looking out at a brick or painted facade, guests are met with lighting and reflection creating viewpoints of the lane otherwise invisible from inside. A view of a different reality from the space in which they currently occupy.
Spatial Design 
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