Yicheng / Alan Wang

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015: THE TIME WELL

Research Process


Title: The Time Well
Project Type: Public Space
Site: London, United Kingdom
Team: Jessica Chang, TJ Farley
Instructor: Vanessa Lastrucci, Amber Bartosh
Year: 2023
Old Billingsgate Market, London
Old Billingsgate Market, London




Project Premise:
 The site of intervention is located at the heart of London, centered on the historic Old Billingsgate Market. Originally completed in 1875 as one of the city’s principal fish markets, the building embodied the openness and public character of Victorian urban infrastructure. For over a century, it served as an essential hub where commerce, community, and the Thames waterfront intersected.

In 1982, the fish market was relocated to the Isle of Dogs in East London, as the growing congestion of the city center made wholesale operations increasingly impractical. Since then, Old Billingsgate has undergone a series of adaptive reuses—first as a bank, and more recently as a private events venue. While these conversions ensured the building’s continued survival, they have also distanced it from its original civic spirit. Its current function restricts public access, rendering a once vibrant communal landmark into an exclusive and closed interior.

This transformation reveals a broader tension within the City of London: a district animated by financial power and constant movement, yet lacking spaces of retreat from its dense, high-intensity urban fabric. The ambient noise of traffic and commerce dominates the surrounding environment, leaving little room for pause, reflection, or inclusive public gathering.

The project therefore seeks to reimagine Old Billingsgate Market not simply as a preserved relic or a privatized container, but as an active civic space that reconciles its historic openness with the contemporary needs of the city. The design aims to recover the building’s relationship with the community, reintroduce permeability and accessibility, and carve out spaces of relief within London’s bustling urban core.












Site Environment Research:





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015: THE TIME WELL