The Hulme Living Archives
The Hulme Living Archives is a retrofit proposal for the abandoned Junction pub in Hulme, Manchester. The project responds to the social fragmentation caused by post-war regeneration and explores how architecture can help rebuild connections between long-term and transient residents.
The project grew from my interest in the relationship between architecture, community, and the stories that give places their identity. The design process began with model-making, which I enjoy as a way of exploring ideas beyond plans and drawings. Using oral histories collected from Hulme residents, I developed a series of physical models that translated memories, routines, and personal experiences into spatial concepts. These early prototypes became a way of understanding how architecture can hold and communicate collective memory.
Drawing on this research, the building’s massing and façade reinterpret familiar Hulme forms and typologies that have contributed to the area’s identity over time, while allowing for future change and adaptation. The proposal imagines The Junction as a participatory “Living Archive”- not simply a place that preserves memories, but one where new stories, relationships, and experiences are continuously created by the community itself.
The programme is organised around four key actions: Gather, Write, Send, and Make. Shared spaces support communal dining, storytelling, podcasting, workshops, and collective production. Inspired by the Greater Manchester Live Well strategy, the project imagines a place where Hulme comes together.
