Asset Arrest

A viewing of the Wilberforce Penthouse in Nine Elms Point, Nine Elms, London, with artist and filmmaker Wilf Speller. Wilf’s work emerges from a research and writing practice that reflects on future imaginaries and their representation. Their recent work has focused on the ideological and aesthetic dogmas that shape the spatial politics of late capitalism and the Anthropocene.

More about Wilf's work:

https://wilfspeller.co.uk/

https://vimeo.com/wilfspeller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74SvNcCvb_I

Instagram: @wilfspeller

EPISODE 21 is a viewing of another Ballymore development – The Wardian, in Canary Wharf - with Lord Matalas. The mysterious Lord Matalas, is a property tycoon, TikTok royalty, and a Canary Wharf local. We talk about his life in a Canary Wharf penthouse, his job in luxury property, his ongoing battle with washer/dryers, the poor-quality housing that Ballymore continue to peddle, and more. You can follow The Lord on TikTok and Instagram @lordmatalas.

https://www.tiktok.com/@lordmatalas?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/lordmatalas/

SPOILER ALERT: Ballymore are criminals and scammers, and we get drunk Canary Wharf style.

Episode 20 of ASSET ARREST is here and is a viewing of 10 Fairholt Street – a £12 million house in Kensington, London - with artist Débora Delmar. Listen to hear our review of this monstrous house, and our conversation about Débora’s work; the suburbs of Mexico City; luxury aesthetics and more.

More about Débora’s work:

http://www.deboradelmar.com/

Episode 19 is a virtual viewing of The Dumont at Albert Embankment in London with the brilliant Budapest based artist Andi Schmied. Andi has a background in both art and architecture and produces installations, videos, performances and printed works that explores the architectural framing of social space. In her own words, she uncovers “unexpected human behaviours and urban anomalies – places that, for one reason or another, do not follow conventional logic, yet remain part of our cityscape”. I was delighted to discover that Andi had similarly been posing for several years as a fake billionaire in order to view high end properties in New York, and so I took the opportunity of lockdown to meet with her for a Zoom viewing. Check out her new publication PRIVATE VIEWS that has been published as a result of her property viewing project!

*photo by Andi Schmied for PRIVATE VIEWS*

More about Andi's work:

http://andischmied.com/

https://www.curbed.com/2020/12/nyc-luxury-penthouse-artist-andi-schmied.html

Andi also mentioned the book 'Uneasy Street' by Rachel Sherman: https://www.waterstones.com/book/uneasy-street/rachel-sherman/9780691191904

Episode 18 features a viewing of Ballymore’s development Embassy Gardens, in Nine Elms, London, with brilliant artist Avril Corroon, who I had a super time talking to! We get a sneak preview of the world’s first “sky pool” from the inside; hear how the security measures for the U.S. Embassy have become a selling point for property here; and talk about Avril’s work that addresses the exploitative conditions of neoliberalism including the precarity of service industry work, and the housing crisis in London and Dublin.

More on Avril's work: https://avrilcorroon.com/

Episode 17 of ASSET ARREST is here, lockdown style! This time I speak to a number of disgruntled owner/occupiers of Ballymore properties in various developments. Listen for an inside view on how property developers like this are conning people, selling off huge swathes of London to overseas investors whilst destroying existing communities, and even building balconies that set on fire due to the use of flammable materials. The reality of the lifestyles depicted on the hoardings and in the brochures are far from the luxury and convenience they promise, and the owner/occupiers are not happy…

Follow Ballymore Hell on social media for more about their ongoing problems and the fight to get Ballymore to do something about them:

https://twitter.com/Ballymorehell

https://www.instagram.com/ballymorehell/

Episode 16 features a viewing of 3 penthouses at the Television Centre development in White City, West London, with community organiser and trade unionist Shiri Shalmy. Television Centre was home to the BBC from 1960 to 2013 and is now a development of luxury apartments, commercial space, and exclusive members club Soho House. Hear what we thought, and learn more about Shiri's work!

Links:

https://cooperation.town/

http://www.antiuniversity.org/

https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/

After an extended break, ASSET ARREST is back with EPISODE 15, recorded in Hong Kong in December, when the world was a very different place. I speak to architect and theorist Wallace P. Chang about the city’s aging population, how the unaffordability of housing is impacting the way that young people live, and Hong Kong as a battleground where a conflict between the two systems – the socialist and the capitalist; Chinese and American values – is played out.

Wallace P. Chang is both an architectural practitioner and theorist on urban design, cultural conservation and community participation. His award-winning designs range from urban washroom to university academic building. Also, he is a social activist to promote a civil consciousness on urban environment, community conservation and sustainable planning, including his recent advocacy on the redevelopment planning and architecture of Shek Tsai Leng [Dills Corner Garden] Elderly Caring District. He is a fellow of HKIA; Registered Architect in Hong Kong and China; Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, HKU; Chairman of 1a Space; Director of the Urban Place Research Unit; Visiting Scholar in Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University; Advisory Committee Member on Revitalization of Historic Buildings.

Photo Creator: Vincent Thian

In episode 14 I meet cultural geographer Oli Mould and go on a viewing tour in East London, incorporating Blackwall Reach in Poplar, One and Ten Park Drive in Canary Wharf, and the Canary Wharf branch of trendy “co-living” chain The Collective. Oli’s most recent book, Against Creativity (Verso, 2018) explores the reality of creativity as a form of neoliberal appropriation that priorities individual success over collective flourishing. We discuss ideas of gateless gated communities, “user friendly” communities, the selling of “vibes” and atmosphere, and hotel-style living for grown up adult-babies. Enjoy, share, and support us at patreon.com/assetarrest!

Oli's work:

https://tacity.co.uk/

https://www.versobooks.com/books/2852-against-creativity

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Subversion-Creative-Routledge-Critical-Urbanism/dp/1138797049

More on developments / properties visited and mentioned:

https://republic.london/

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/robin-hood-gardens?gclid=CjwKCAjwnIr1BRAWEiwA6GpwNdaf5ete7y5QQeovM9HHX2DX4bxBPsUXGBe5fOGESf9h5BuvQ5LO_xoCP0kQAvD_BwE

https://blackwallreach.co.uk/

https://residential.canarywharf.com/one-park-drive/

https://residential.canarywharf.com/10-park-drive/

https://www.thecollective.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwnIr1BRAWEiwA6GpwNQyQmqH21GlhzJyLeK34yb5vghhnbO9Ud8O69Yb1FKcus2BuHWx0hBoCOaQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This episode takes us to Hong Kong where I meet with Wing Shing Tang, a professor at the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interest is to comprehend the nature of cities and urban development, with a focus on Chinese cities, including Hong Kong. We speak about the hyperdensity of Hong Kong as a result of the three stages of colonization; his argument to conceive of urban redevelopment in Hong Kong through hegemony-cum-alientation, which differs from gentrification and is a more complicated process than displacement of the working class; and the Hong Kong Government’s attempt to blame the recent and ongoing unrest on the fact that young people can’t afford apartments.