Transport Hub as Commons
My proposal responds to Lake District's lack of connection within its demographic categories through an application of Cumbria's Plan for Infrastructure policy - Clean and Healthy Cumbria, Connected Cumbria, Community Cumbria. After identifying the issues of isolation that local members of the community experience, I decided to reshape the infrastructural landscape by creating new means of connection - through public transport and the principle of the commons.
In support of UK's 2050 Net Zero ambitions, my scheme uses nuclear power as a renewable energy source for powering an Electric Vehicle Transport Hub which offers an alternative to personal means of transportation. It improves the frequency of the existing bus network, and adds a ride-sharing element - addressing both the local and tourist population.
As part of the effort to create a piece of green infrastructure, the building has a dual programme. The building's expansive green roof is designed as a public park, which accesses a set of common resources - the beautiful Lake District landscape, while attempting to blend in with the surroundings. This represents a response to the National Park's protective policy, which prohibits any construction or development that would affect the landscape. In this element of the public realm, the disconnection problem is adressed not only on a strategic level but on an interpersonal one, creating accessible opportunities for socialisation.
Inspired by my atelier's position, my proposal represents a critical exploration of the way that local policies affect not only the built environment but also the lives of those inhabiting it and the systems that serve them.
