Architecture is a Public Service

Designing a building is a complex task that requires coordinating and integrating many dimensions. The brief of this module reflects this complexity and asks students to develop building design projects that address several overlapping dimensions. The title captures the main aim of the brief, that is to reflect on the ethical imperatives of our profession. We must experiment with architectural design while bearing in mind that we design primarily to improve social and environmental conditions.

THE CONTEXT

Medway is among the lowest performing local authorities in the South-East, with a much slower rate of economic growth than seen in neighbouring authorities and wider areas. Despite being a riverine settlement, therefore with a potentially attractive geographical location, and with a historical quarter such as the Historic Dockyards that could become a point of attraction for tourism, the stagnation of the local economy is real and translates into lower income for its residents.

This is not only happening in Medway, and within Medway, Chatham, but also in many other cities across the UK and beyond. After peaking in the 1980s, the fast post-war economic expansion started its long and - apparently – unstoppable decline, with consequences for jobs and public investments. One of the many consequences of this decline is governmental cuts in investments on and provision of public services. Lower investments lead to prioritising some sectors while others shrink or disappear. Services such as care homes and libraries, for example, are ever-more difficult to find and access, particularly for low-income groups.

However, this situation offers the opportunity for community groups, activists and thinkers to develop bottom-up innovative models of service organisation and provision. This is happening already with projects underpinned by theoretical frameworks that imply a paradigm shift in society. The sharing economy, for example, is a model of economy in which cooperation and sharing become the predominant values driving our actions, as opposed to values such as competition and individualism, that are often perceived as the basis for a free market economy. Initiatives such as the time bank (https://timebank.cc/), carsharing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsharing). and the share shop (https://www.theshareshop.org/) are applications of the sharing economy that have been trialled. Another recent paradigm is the repair economy (https://www.repaircafe.org/en/), which theorises that we have lost our skills to fix and amend as opposed to throw away any good that is damaged. Knowing how to repair would extend the lifetime (and sustainability) of our possessions but would require a different type of education and mindset.

Tutor Shaun Huddleston

Group G26

Stream Well-Being

The Orange Tree Sanctuary

The sanctuary is a story about many stories. It is a place where one can regain the power that has been lost through domestic abuse through retreat and responsibility with a subconscious use of scent therapy. The architecture experiments with the capability of spontaneity and threshold. Like a Moroccan courtyard, the magic is within. I like to imagine the sanctuary has a sort of experience close to seeing a sunset on the first warm evening of the summer. Once the sanctuary unravels like the sky completely covers in a warm glow, a sort of euphoric, emotional and calming experience both enters and leaves your consciousness with a sense of true peace. That relief that winter is behind us and summer is finally here.

Tutor Lee Jesson

Group G22

Stream Education

Intra Film Hub

The Intra Film Hub is a mixed-use film school and cinema, aiming to reintroduce NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) students back into the education system via a vocational film course. The building is split up into four different uses, the main school area and a filming studio on the left hand side of the site, and a cinema and a café on the right. The separation of these spaces designate a private vs. public access, with the left side being predominantly private, and the right being public. After school hours, the public are able to utilise the spaces within the school building, such as the computer facilities. As the existing site contains the Old Greys of Chatham, a 60s car garage which the students were heavily encouraged to keep due to it being a key example of the modernist style, care had to be had when dealing with the high street frontage. My resolution to this was to create a 'second skin' to the building. A light-weight timber structure that would wrap around the building via the roof and connect into the existing façade using pins. The idea behind this new façade was that of one wished to revert the building back to having its original façade, they could just removed the timber addition, it also allows the building to take on a new identity whilst also allowing the original façade to be seen behind it. 

Tutor Michael Richards

Group G28

Stream Education

Chatham Youth Center

I have designed a youth center based in Chatham, Medway for the sole purpose of revitalizing a safe, informal and supervised environment for young people. This project aims to provide the youth of Chatham with a building packed with activities which they can truly relate to. These activities will help to nurture and bring out whatever hidden talents they may have. It may also help young people to cope with any mental health problems which they might be struggling with. Activities consist of both physical and educational. A quick rundown includes rock climbing courses, affordable tuitions, cycle & boat crafting workshop, skateboarding and many more. You also get a lovely view towards the river. Main materiality is Cross Laminated Walnut Timber to give the building a nice earthy tone. This is to differentiate the building from the surrounding historical buildings mostly consisting of plain bricks. This materiality choice will come across as more appealing to the youth due to its modernness.

Tutor Michael Richards

Group G28

Stream Well-Being

Chatham Shedagogy

‘Chatham Shedagogy’ seeks to bring a creative workspace and community gateway to Chatham. Situated on the town’s historic railway station, the proposal encompasses the philosophy of Men’s Sheds; non-profit local organisations that provide places for craftwork, individual projects, and social interaction.

Tutor Andy MacFee

Group G27

Stream Well-Being

Intra Town Hall

The Intra Town Hall takes an existing, derelict 60’s car showroom and transforms it into a multifunctional civic centre for the Medway community. The project seeks to provide the local residents with facilities to conduct their civic lives; spaces that can be used for a variety of activities and events potentially desired by the community. The design places emphasis on the circular economy and environmental benefit. The project preserves the exisiting structures with minimal, targeted demolition, and is extended with FSC certified timber.

Tutor Andu MacFee

Group G27

Stream Education

Riverside Center

The project seeks to provide a space for the residents to interact with each other while gaining knowledge. whether it be in the form of classes or hands on in the workshop.

Tutor Chloe Young

Group G23

Stream Education, Well-Being

Tutor Rebecca Muirhead

Group G25

Stream Education

School Beyond a School

My project seeks to provide education in the specific skills. The idea of the building is to accompany for anyone. It is a social space made to encourage learning and creativity at any age. The buildings’ basic structure is built upon the same concepts as a school, but where schools have strict lines of direction, this space is made for the choice of learning and working.

Tutor Ivan Del Renzio

Group G21

Stream Well-Being

Nurturing Nature

This design project aims to provide Chatham with a Wellbeing Centre to support Medway’s current mental health crisis program. It was recorded in 2021 that 15.7% of Medway adults suffer from depression, which is higher than the national statistic of 12.3%. Needing a change, I propose this Wellbeing Centre which integrates nature with support. The current site of Chatham shows signs of neglect, with unused warehouses and vast empty concrete spaces. The plan is to regenerate the abandoned car showroom, site 3, by recladding the existing front and replacing the rear empty warehouses, with two extensions embracing a living courtyard, overlooked by verandas which lead off into a host of different spaces varying from meditation niches, studios for art and exercise, donation store, library and a light and airy café overlooking a landscaped garden and river views beyond. Services, an office, and one to one session rooms are located at the front of the building near the reception, which overlooks the covered street entrance, allowing public access to the sea wall and our community growing areas. Natural light, nature and garden views are the focus of the building, with the use of sustainable natural construction materials, organic colours and comfortable furnishings, creates a home like welcoming quality. The transparency of the building allows natural visual connections to the events and activities within, provoking public curiosity, awareness and possible involvement. I further explore the idea of transforming Chatham outside of our site boundary, tackling some of the nearby unused concrete spaces, and replacing them with soft landscaping, to push Chatham into a greener direction, bringing the community together and providing a better quality of life. 

Tutor Silvio Caputo

Group G24

Stream Work and Education

Chatham Intra Culinary Village

Proposal for a community-led culinary school that aims to re-skill veterans living in the area and people recovering from substance use disorder. The school provides theoretical classes and practical training, as well as job opportunities at the school affiliated restaurant on-site. 

Tutor Shaun Huddleston

Group G26

Stream Culture

Chatham Culture and Creative Center

It is a Creativity and Culture centre where creative minds can work together and teach other people their craftsmanship, art and express their work. 

Tutor Lee Jenson

Group G22

Stream Work and Culture

The Shipwrights of Chatham

This project offers a world of workplace opportunities across the whole lifecycle and beyond . The people of Chatham can become involved in the immediate construction process, enabling them to up skill in modern construction methods, a growth industry. Apprentice level through to qualified tradesmen will be accepted. This regenerative project celebrates Chatham’s rich dockyard of cultural heritage and positions its re-establishment of water-based trades. These ethical and sustainable activities can recapture the intergenerational pride of Chatham’s former glories. Tertiary employment will be offered through the services that support the newly created engaging public spaces. Whilst, the regeneration of shipwright skills and the establishment of modern methods of construction expertise, centred around environmentally friendly products and transportation methods, can establish Chatham as a centre of excellence for making and mending. Therefore, this innovative project will purposefully re-establish Chatham as an essential hub of culture, service, and logistical importance. 

Tutor Michael Richards

Group G28

Stream Education

Revitalising Chatham - The Pottery Cycle

The site is restored into a cultural educational facility for ceramics, repairing and creating new pottery for the local residents. Further relying on the River Medway for clay and collecting 19th century Crockery from the nearby Burntwick Island enables the revival of the waterfront's activities into a commercial destination that provides job opportunities for local artisans. Facing the waterfront, additional landscaping has been created with locally grown herbs that are harvested and used in the community kitchen. Visitors who create/restore their pottery can take herbs home via their new ceramics and are awarded with Level 1/2 qualifications.

Tutor Ivan Del Renzio

Group G21

Stream Well-Being

Chatham Well-Being Center

The well-being centre starts by being built and assisted by the community in order to help Chatham Intra's community. Over time the building can change and evolve to suit the town's needs.

Tutor Rebecca Muirhead

Group G25

Stream Work

Intra-Play

The objective of the project is to create an information exchange hub where people are able to come work freely and learn skills from one another. The main concept of this design is to force interactions amongst visitors. With people overlooking each other hoping to peak their interests and curiosities about each other. Hoping for them to form connections and learn from another, leading to a knock on effect for people to gain new skills.

Tutor Choe Young

Group G23

Stream Education

Tutor Choe Young

Group G23

Stream Community

Tutor Shaun Huddleston

Group G26

Stream Culture

Nourish Intra

A fragmented tendon between Chatham and Rochester, Chatham Intra is an urban that unites, fro the people, by the people. With plans to convert Anchorage House to 81 apartments to house asylum seekers, Nourish will provide work and education to the new residents of Anchorage house, as well as serving as a multi-cultural and multi-generational hub of activity for all abilities. The end goal is to build a community sustained urban farm that aims to educate the wider audience about the circular economy of food and life, through international gastronomy and dining experiences.

Tutor Lee Jesson

Group G22

Stream Education

Intra Hub

The intra hub is designed to educate and provide experience those who wish to try new things/ Lonely and or further their studies in a non traditional academic setting. Giving back to the Chatham community through food and arts.