Cheeky Greenpeace UK Fighting Climate Change With Architecture

NIMBY game changer? The operator of England's Heathrow Airport has plans to build a third runway and sixth terminal at the airport, master planned by international architecture firm Grimshaw. According to Greenpeace, the expansion would make Heathrow the biggest greenhouse gas-producer in the country (when the airport is at full capacity). So somehow the organization has managed to buy a plot of land right at the center of the building site, and they've named it Airplot. The four legal owners of the land are an odd bunch: Greenpeace UK, actress Emma Thompson, Brit comedian Alistair McGowan, and socialite/politician Zac Goldsmith. But they've also asked supporters to sign on as beneficial owners, and there are currently more than 66,500. Now Greenpeace is holding a contest for architects, architecture students, and landscape architects to come up with plans to "fortify and enhance the airplot." They're looking for a design that has an "aesthetic and cultural power [that] will help us win the moral and political campaign before construction is even attempted." But they're hoping they never have to build it--it will all depend on the action of the government. (Via Unbeige.)
· AIRPLOT! [Greenpeace UK]
· Activist architects needed to block Heathrow's third runway [Architecture & Design]