Rhythms of water and wild
In Cleator Moor, a former mining town shaped by water and industry, landscape becomes a way to listen and respond. Frequent surface flooding is no longer viewed as a problem to be fixed, but rather as a seasonal rhythm that can shape new habitats, guide planting, and connect people to their place.
Working with man-made soil, clay loam, and fragmented ecology, the design introduces wetlands, meadow zones, and boardwalks that adapt to the land’s microtopography. Industrial remnants are not removed, but quietly retained, marking memory while allowing nature to reclaim.
Over time, layered vegetation adapts to changing water levels, thereby encouraging biodiversity. Each phase responds to both ecological performance and local use: seeding new ground, supporting infrastructure, inviting programming, and allowing adaptation. Rather than imposing a master plan, the landscape evolves through use, climate, and care.
In a town where young people are leaving and daily life is quiet, the reimagined terrain aims to spark interaction. Observation decks, planting pockets, and walkable edges invite new routines—small moments of contact between humans and shifting nature. What emerges is not a finished park, but a place that grows with uncertainty and finds form through flood.
