Degree Show 2024

The design proposal responds to the principles of circular economy and materiality and urban morphology. In phase one we put emphasis on addressing how people would move through and around Thornwood, concluding that the majority of streets were car centric and there was a critical lack of pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. There is also a lack of amenity in Thornwood, forcing residents to leave the area to seek them. Thornwood Quadrant had a severe issue of unclear hierarchies between the public and private realms and between the street and the buildings as it breaks away from the established functional grid However, between these building, the offsetting of the grid allowed access directly through between the building to an unused Woodland.

Addressing the absence of hierarchy in public spaces, strategically placed walls and green spaces created boundaries that maintained both the privacy of the residents in Thornwood Quadrant and the functionality of the critical routes through the site to the woodland. In the retrofits, I extended existing structures, introducing a new floor, and seamlessly integrating new builds with surrounding historical tenements. By reconnecting Thornwood Quadrant to an unused woodland, it not only provides a new park but also establishes a vital link to the larger Thornwood community.

The site’s relationship to the street has also been addressed through the new builds. The street is now faced with walls that run in parallel to the existing housing that runs the length of the street. I have also allowed for the opportunity for amenity along the ground floor as this is an essential element to building a self-sufficient circular economy.