SEE THE WORLD ON WHEELS AT THE ARCHITECTURE CENTRE
By 24 Hour Museum Staff
03/02/2005
With only a trusty bike, Matt Bridgestock circumnavigated the globe in 12 months. Courtesy The Architecture Centre.
In the grand tradition of explorers from Marco Polo to Sir Walter Raleigh, student Matt Bridgestock set off to discover the world.
Like his illustrious forebears, Matt circumnavigated the globe. But instead of fame, fortune and trade he went in search of architecture.
An exhibition on show at the Architecture Centre in Bristol from February 8 until March 13 2005 uses anecdotes, articles and images to tell the story of his epic journey, recounting the places, people and adventures he encountered on the way.
Taking a break from his architecture training at the University of the West of England, Matt Bridgestock embarked on a 12-month cycling tour of the world.
Matt's journey took him from from England to Shanghai, through the Andes to New York and back to England again. Courtesy The Architecture Centre.
Joined by friends at various stages he cycled over 16,000 miles, taking in diverse cultures and environments, from the desolate Kazak steppe to the flurry of Shanghai, over rugged Andean peaks to the sweltering banana plantations of Central America.
According to Matt, a bike is the ideal mode of transport from which to find both adventure and architecture. "It brings you close to people, both physically and emotionally," he says. "The culture of a country comes at you in a 10 tonne truck, intensity on and around the street makes places."
But as well as culture, Matt discovered how different forms of architecture can really teach a person about the places where it is found.
Courtesy The Architecture Centre.
"Architecture is an inherently cultural activity; a thorough understanding of one opens the door to perceiving the other," he says. "It becomes apparent that architecture is less about a style and more about the way people inhabit and use space."
The unique design of the exhibition, which has previously been exhibited at the Lighthouse in Glasgow, sees photographs and illustrations mounted into bicycle wheels, along with a film of Matt’s experiences.
