My interests converge around challenging existing forms of architecture and urban design, allowing us to re-think the goals and objectives that we seek within the built environment. These interests have manifested into a series of projects that adopt an intersectional design ethos that values and emphasises the local, cultural and historical identity of place and strives to enhance these through architecture.
My final year thesis, Reclaiming Rural Heritage, is an investigation into rural and urban space and why the rural is often seen as subservient to urban advances and policy. The project imagines what an equipoised dichotomy of urban and rural federations would be like and demonstrates how political change can create opportunities for new approaches to architecture and development. The location of Martin Mere is significant in both history and legend, being England's largest lake until the late 17th century and the lake where King Arthur acquired Excalibur. A design methodology that draws from research into rural wants, needs and innovation coupled with the context of COVID-19 has been adopted to create an amalgamated programme of industries that seeks to maximise local benefit and create shock-resistant community assets. The project is influenced by stakeholder capitalist models that are concerned with prioritising the needs of the planet and people over economic gain.
Reclaiming Rural Heritage develops a central tourist hotspot within The Rural Federation while also providing a location to house local rural assets and artefacts currently on display in urban centres. The project explores how rewilding initiatives, community interests and capitalism can intersect to create impactful architectural forms.
