Small settlements have seen a large shift in focus over the past century, from areas of production and place to suburban commuter products, a base for those working in surrounding towns and cities to live near nature. This has led to a disjoint in villages, with the traditional, vernacular architecture of the past being consumed by larger developer led housing. With this, the memories, stories and architecture of an industrial past are lost.
This Thesis looks to develop an approach to reintegrate industry into the heart of villages such as Brinscall, building on the historic and current ties to Brinscall Quarry, and focussing on how, through closer integration of public and private industry spaces, stone can again become the protagonist of the village. The research delves into a number of design interventions to help form the settlement, from a stone masons workshop and visitors centre, to a new stone housing typology and local shops, with the former being the producer of the latter. This creates a new connection between industry and the village, dormant for over fifty years, where industry is not only an active participant in the village but moulds and shapes the village of the future through ideas of the past.
