The final year diploma project is a thesis- design constructed on previous research and actual site problematics.
Site:
Ashford, South-East UK
population: 60 000
population by 2031: 120 000
identity: past: market town; hub
identity: present: none
identity: future: a vibrant hub 37 minutes from London / 1 hour from Paris. Best place to live, work and do business.
Ashford is facing major regeneration: population expected to double to 120 000 by 2031, with 31 000 new homes and 28 000 new jobs. 250 000 sqm in town centre will be allocated to retail, commercial, leisure and residential developments. A major suburban residential development is planned south-wards. Present Ashford is a car-dominated city aswell as future: with four multistory car-parks expected and new park&ride lines.
Problem:
Problem:
The specific site is in Ashford town centre, aside and above railway tracks, river and motorway: area where railway creates an inaccesible, restricted area, a boundary in the centre of town. Above and below it, there are non-spaces: bridges, tunnels and underpasses, that hold a single function- to connect.
By development plan, the town centre areas aside railway are to be filled with mixed use program, however, disconnected and sliced, leaving islands that are accessed via non-spaces. The development plan has not included any improvement to bridges/tunnels/underpasses, but controversially, replacing a major footbridge with a larger vehicle one.
Therefore, this forms the first objective: to create a coherent town centre.
Secondly, horizontal sprawl outwards town centre is far from sustainable planning- increasing car domination, expanding infrastructure. It is still built on an oil-based economy and facing climate change, it would not decrease the Co2 emissions and energy usage, irrespective how ‘green’ the developments.
Solution:
An extra large building above and aside the railway, creating a space to be in, to consume and use, from non-place to place, containing infinite number and variety of events in a dense community. It is compact, compressed, centralized infrastructure, it is sustainability.atmospheric section:
diagrammatic section:
axonometric plan view:
interior shot:
