Welcome to the Blackpool Spectacular!
The seaside resort of Blackpool was once the jewel of the North, renowned for its illuminations and funfairs, but is now one of Britain’s most deprived areas. This project recognises its unique cultural identity and proposes a masterplan that rebrands Blackpool as the entertainment capital of the U.K. Through applying theoretical principles from Robert Venturi & Denise Scott Brown’s Learning from Las Vegas, an urban design framework was first generated for the long-term development of Blackpool, which was then illustrated on a masterplan scale. This project proposes a gateway to the town with high-rise mega-resorts, a new gateway landmark, glitzy over-the-top electrographic signage, and numerous free spectacles (both artificial and natural landscape elements, like the sand dunes) along the seafront, creating a Strip of extravaganzas that floods the audience’s senses.
