Andrew Merritt: Intertidal Food | Room One Thousand / Architecture Lecture
6 PM Reception / 6:30 PM Lecture
Free and open to the public
London-based artist, architect, and activist Andrew Merritt discusses “Intertidal Allotment,” a long-term art and architecture project exploring ways to grow food in the intertidal zone, where land meets the sea, on the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames estuary, the mouth of London.
The intertidal zone tides and floods leave nutrient rich deposits, a natural fertilizer for arable land and biodiverse ecosystems. Yet coastlines have largely been reduced to a ghost of their former selves through industrialization, extraction, climate change and pollution. The intermingling between land and sea is cut off through sea defenses protecting economies but destroying ecologies. “Intertidal Allotment” works within these coastlines, experimenting with methods to grow food and support ecosystems and communities.
Sheppey’s present day sea defenses extend out from a 16th century fort and mimic an industrial port that now envelops it. This defensive and industrial mindset and process is globally typical. In China, for example, around 60% of its coast is effectively concrete. Similarly, more than 14,000 miles of the US’s coastline is covered in concrete. The aim of Intertidal Allotment is to create a modular and sustainable system that responds to the needs of local people, and which can be replicated in other coastal locations. In 2026 it will extend to the coastal waters of Bangkok. Merritt will also touch on how this project fits within his wider practice of reappropriating human infrastructure and systems for other species, from the military to supermarkets, field hospitals to DIY tools.
This lecture is co-sponsored by Room One Thousand and the Department of Architecture.
About the Speaker
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Andrew MerrittLondon-based Andrew Merritt’s practice crisscrosses the boundaries between the visual arts, architecture and activism through functional sculptures, permanent installations and spaces that provide a framework or foundation for communities and ecologies to use and build upon. Projects are idea, context, and site-driven and are typically developed over multiple years, and in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and communities.
Merritt’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Gwangju Biennale, MAK Vienna, V&A Museum, South London Gallery, Deon Foundation, Amsterdam; Artangel, Milan Design Week, Cultural Olympia, London Festival of Architecture, Design Museum, London; Wellcome Collection, Istanbul Biennial, Design Week South Africa, Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, amongst others.
He is a co-founder of the experimental making and learning space Makerversity at Somerset House and has been resident at Delfina Foundation, Orleans House, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew and is currently a research fellow at the British School at Rome, Italy.
Accessibility
The auditorium is wheelchair accessible. If you require accommodations to fully participate in this event, please contact Boban Zarkovich at least 10 days prior to the event