Project description
The project looks at sustainable development through the repair and adaptation of a series of derelict railway warehouses in the south-east of Nottingham’s city centre. This area was cleared in the 1980s to make way for a large-scale development which was never realised. The thesis suggests a grassroots method of development should be employed on site, putting the needs of the community over profit and achieved through self-build, community ownership and slow development – but first opening the land up as unprogrammed public space. The warehouses will be converted into a building centre to provide materials, prefabricated elements and training. Part factory, part school, the centre will construct itself stage-by-stage, all inspired by Brussels-based design practice Rotor, which specialises in deconstruction/reconstruction. The overarching attitude is one of ‘making do’. Interventions in the existing buildings are made appropriate to their specific case, rather than following an aesthetic theme.
Tutor citation
"Oliver’s well-judged resolution derives from carefully developed strands. It proposes an alternative economic model based on self-build, community-led programmes and addresses the city’s need for training. Founded on a long-term vision that is committed to sustainability, its viability lies in its incremental approach in which the land and buildings are developed in stages." Rosamund Diamond
