Continuity in Attachment
The building is a mixed use centre that provides the nearby residents with an inter-generational meeting place and opportunities of sharing interests in community-led businesses and initiatives, especially oriented towards the existing community and aging group. Through its "soft" construction process, it deals with the issues of grief and anxiety experienced in the face of development of the area by the ageing individuals who have established emotional bonds with the place and its features. This project is an academic work completed in a group of two people.
The hub is built over an abandoned railway arch which is as part of another master plan project(link is coming soon...), located in Collyhurst, Manchester. Due to the removal of industrial focused buildings, this area has been left as a void in the urban grain which has not been restored in the area of Collyhurst. One of the elements from that time, which still remains in site, is the arches from the railway connecting to Oldham Road Goods Station, embracing what the area once was.
Grief and anxiety triggers
Design concepts
'Soft' construction'1. Building structure inspired by the all-present scaffolding. To deal with anxiety associated with construction works nearby, this
'soft scaffolding' will remain in place, embraced by the society as the character of place, acting as the exoskeleton of the building. |
Urban home2. The building is a translation of a home with a widely accessible living room and more private rooms. Through that it aims to evoke associations with comfort and safety, enabling its users to establish place attachment which can alleviate negative emotions such as anxiety or grief after losing one's familiar neighbourhood due to regeneration.
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Customisation3. A metaphor of the building customisation process in which the buyers from the community have the opportunity to select the features of their units.
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Bridging isolation4. As a community hub, the building will break the physical and mental isolation of the existing community and integrate both old and new.
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To understand grief associated with the loss of meaningful buildings or places and the coping mechanisms involved, we have explored grief caused by other reasons in human life. The needs and wishes of sample residents was then translated into architecture and the design of the proposed building.