For PS1, USE developed housing strategies on a site adjacent to the Fallowfield Loopline near to the informally named Secret Lake. The task was to develop a new type of home that explored the potentials of this diverse site which has been subject to the forces of economic flux resulting in the current context of small industrial sites, 20th century housing estates, sports grounds, brownfield sites and places of indeterminate ownership and function, such as the ex-industrial Secret Lake itself.

Students developed new types of communal living that responded to our current political, and economic climate, as well as environmental issues and the pandemic crisis of COVID 19. Proposals ranged from multiple houses, to high density flats that explored opportunities in line with the overall topic of “Resistance”. All proposals aimed to implement a symbiosis between the industrial nature of the site and a new form of residential development. True to the atelier’s approach, buildings expressed a poetic quality that enhanced the eclectic nature of the area.

This year, the USE PS2 brief asked the students to explore the potential reuse of Gorton House, a Grade II listed building in Greater Manchester. Students were tasked with questioning the value and relevance of the structure by considering its historic, environmental, and social context. Situated near the Fallowfield Loop, Gorton House stands at the southern end of Gorton Lower Reservoir. Built by an early Manchester industrialist, it was once an important social landmark but now exists in a dilapidated and perilous state with its future in doubt.

Led by thorough research, student proposals included bird sanctuaries, workshops, bathhouses, and art galleries. All solutions were encouraged to adopt sustainable technologies whilst maintaining a poetic and artistic approach within their narrative. Each project used experimental methodologies to create solutions to their developed brief and sought to enhance the landscape of the reservoir setting, whilst furthering USE atelier values.