Succession of Care
Succession of Care proposes a non-linear cycle of ecological repair on the post-industrial landscape of Pomona Island, Manchester, a site shaped by contaminated soil, flood risk, and the legacy of industrial development. Rather than treating these conditions as problems to be erased, the project works with them as the basis for a long-term programme of environmental recovery. Pomona Island is reimagined as a living ecological sponge, capable of absorbing toxins, floodwater, and the pressures of urban change through adaptive natural systems.
Central to the proposal is Phytoremediation, a process through which plant species extract heavy metals from the soil. The harvested biomass is then processed through slow pyrolysis to produce bio-ores, which are used to create ceramic glazes for the architecture. In this way, contamination is transformed into a visible building material, embedding the site’s history of damage and repair within its constructed fabric.
The architecture is organised as a series of Cabinets of Healing that support planting, testing, harvesting, processing, learning, and community participation. Connected by a central circulation spine, these spaces make ecological restoration visible and accessible to visitors. Operating through a phased timeline, the project gradually shifts responsibility for stewardship from the architect to a wider collective of community members, ecological systems, and non-human actors. Through this succession of care, the project demonstrates how architecture can become a framework for long-term resilience, ecological recovery, and collective stewardship through ongoing maintenance and care.
