Continuity in Architecture are interested in the cultural heritage of the city, not only in the city as a collection of historical artefacts but also in the way people have and will use these buildings and spaces. The Atelier considers buildings not as solitary objects, but as integral and related pieces of the city that encourage a convivial coming together of people. We believe that it is important to understand the intangible and tangible aspects of historic fabric in order to engage with it in a meaningful and dynamic way. Bryony Roberts in her discussion of ‘Tabula Plena’, suggests that the examination and interpretation of site can be stretched to describe a board game or even the table after a dinner party – ‘with the complex arrangements of plates, glasses and silverware positioned by a series of social negotiations’ (2017).

This year the Atelier has continued to work on funded projects that examine the future of the Historic High Street. John Lloyd in his seminal article ‘The Closing of the High Street Theatres’ stated that these smaller shopping areas ‘… were - and still are - theatres of human interaction’ (2020). In collaboration with Bradford Civic Society and the Bradford Townscape Heritage Scheme, the Atelier have worked in the ‘Top of Town’, where students have made theoretical contextual additions to the High Street for three ‘live clients’: Assembly, who provide co-working spaces, FUSE Art Space, a volunteer-led art gallery and Bradford Civic Society, an organisation who champion Bradford’s heritage.

Projects from the Atelier will be exhibited in a ‘High Street Takeover’ exhibition in Bradford this summer.