Elefante y Castillo
A spatial palimpsest
of cultural memory and identity in a site of erasure
University College London
The Bartlett School of Architecture
MA Architecture and Historic Urban Environments
Fernando Sanchez R
2025
Elephant and Castle has long been a palimpsest of London’s urban history, where paths and people converged for centuries. In the mid-20th century it was reimagined as the “Piccadilly of the South,” crowned by a modernist shopping centre. Over time, that concrete complex became a cultural home for London’s Latin American diaspora, alive with food, music, language, and shared identity. When the shopping centre was demolished in 2021, shopkeepers were displaced and a sense of belonging was lost.
Elefante y Castillo responds by asking: how can architecture mediate cultural memory in regeneration, ensuring displaced communities remain part of the urban fabric? The project honours the Latin American community’s role in reshaping Elephant and Castle. An action titled “Draw the Elephant” invited residents and shopkeepers to sketch memories and hopes for the site. These drawings, of food stalls, festivals, and encounters, became testimonies that informed the design process. Each sketch acted as resistance to forgetting, making participants co-authors of the project and reinforcing their “right to the city.”
Instead of erasure, the proposal adapts and reuses the Castle Square market structure as the framework for a new hub. Permanent buildings surround a public square, housing Latin American restaurants, market stalls, exhibition and archive spaces, and flexible halls for music, dance, and fiestas. Lightweight pavilions and the retained Elephant statue anchor continuity, weaving memory into the evolving landscape. Elefante y Castillo shows that regeneration can enrich rather than erase. By grounding design in storytelling, participation, and reuse, it demonstrates an inclusive model where architecture mediates between past and future, ensuring Elephant and Castle’s next chapter carries the voices that defined it.
The Bartlett School of Architecture
MA Architecture and Historic Urban Environments
Fernando Sanchez R
2025
Elephant and Castle has long been a palimpsest of London’s urban history, where paths and people converged for centuries. In the mid-20th century it was reimagined as the “Piccadilly of the South,” crowned by a modernist shopping centre. Over time, that concrete complex became a cultural home for London’s Latin American diaspora, alive with food, music, language, and shared identity. When the shopping centre was demolished in 2021, shopkeepers were displaced and a sense of belonging was lost.
Elefante y Castillo responds by asking: how can architecture mediate cultural memory in regeneration, ensuring displaced communities remain part of the urban fabric? The project honours the Latin American community’s role in reshaping Elephant and Castle. An action titled “Draw the Elephant” invited residents and shopkeepers to sketch memories and hopes for the site. These drawings, of food stalls, festivals, and encounters, became testimonies that informed the design process. Each sketch acted as resistance to forgetting, making participants co-authors of the project and reinforcing their “right to the city.”
Instead of erasure, the proposal adapts and reuses the Castle Square market structure as the framework for a new hub. Permanent buildings surround a public square, housing Latin American restaurants, market stalls, exhibition and archive spaces, and flexible halls for music, dance, and fiestas. Lightweight pavilions and the retained Elephant statue anchor continuity, weaving memory into the evolving landscape. Elefante y Castillo shows that regeneration can enrich rather than erase. By grounding design in storytelling, participation, and reuse, it demonstrates an inclusive model where architecture mediates between past and future, ensuring Elephant and Castle’s next chapter carries the voices that defined it.