Doing Architecture Differently

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT

DOING ARCHITECTURE DIFFERENTLY

DOING ARCHITECTURE DIFFERENTLY Architecture matters. How we build and retrofit our homes, businesses and public spaces has a huge environmental impact.

Currently approximately 50% of energy consumed in the UK is used in buildings. To avoid catastrophic climate change, we need to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050 at the latest – and we need to start today.

The materials we use, the energy that goes into construction, how we interact with habitats and wild species, how energy efficient our buildings are – all of this and more gives architecture the potential have a strong positive environmental influence.

Sustainable Part 2 Masters course at CAT The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is an environmental education centre dedicated to researching and communicating positive solutions for environmental change. As part of this, CAT provides Masters-level education in a wide range of topics related to sustainability, including a Masters in Sustainable Architecture – the Part 2 (of three parts) for students training to be architects.

Based near Machynlleth, north of Aberystwyth, CAT offers the only rural-based and sustainability-focused architecture course in Wales, or anywhere in the UK.

ARCHITECTURE MATTERS

let’s do it differently

COMMUNITY-FOCUSED DESIGN CAT encourages its students to think globally and act locally, with a vital part of ‘acting locally’ being to engage with local communities.

In order to foster this ‘looking out’ and ‘working with’ approach to architecture and architectural education, each year we run a community-focused project.

West Wales sustainability projects In recent years CAT architecture students have worked on projects in Porthmadog, Harlech and, closer to home, in Machynlleth. Often we are invited by the communities to explore perceived or actual problems that they are experiencing. Harlech, for example, felt that its high street was dying, while in Porthmadog our brief was to explore the possible impact of climate change. In Machynlleth we looked at how to make the community more sustainable.

Whilst these projects are chiefly designed as part of our students’ learning experience, they can also be very useful to the communities.

With Machynlleth Town Council becoming the first in Wales to declare a ‘climate emergency’, with plans to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our students’ ongoing research is proving to be very useful.

GET INVOLVED In this portfolio you will see a range of work by our students in each of the three communities. If, when you have read about what we do, you feel that CAT architecture students may be able to help your community, or you have any comments on the projects showcased here, please contact John Carter, MArch: Sustainable Architecture course Programme Leader on john.carter@cat.org.uk

THE PROJECTS

PORTHMADOG, 2015 The brief Porthmadog is a town whose fortunes have changed radically over the centuries. Once a thriving port that gained its fortune from the sea, it is now largely reliant on tourism, and the risk of sea level rise and an increase in storm surges is one of the greatest threats to the town.

CAT architecture students were asked to explore the potential impacts of climate change, and to look at how the town could respond to the challenge. Students held interviews with and were given presentations by local politicians, historians, community activists, local retailers and tourism strategists, alongside meeting with flooding engineers from Natural Resources Wales, local farmers, Snowdonia National Park ecologists and local food researchers.

Affordable homes connected to the town One student project proposed replacing an island of tourist apartments with affordable homes for locals and a nursery, all reconnected to the town with a pedestrian route over new flood control and renewable energy generating sluice gates.

A new community centre The current Canolfan (community centre), while well used, is a brute of a building and impedes access to the splendour of the harbour area. Several projects proposed to relocate and redesign the Canolfan, opening the harbour to the park and serving all communities.

Flood defences Based on some predictions on sea level rise, the existing harbour quay is seen as the most vulnerable point of flood defences in the town.

Several projects had strategies for providing suitable defences and using the opportunity to provide new facilities for the town.

PORTHMADOG, 2015

Resettling the town More severe sea-level rise and inland storm water flooding scenarios could see the estuary becoming sea again. With half of Porthmadog under threat, this leads some to propose a long-term plan for resettlement of parts of the town on higher ground, with local food production as a major focus.

Reforesting the uplands Upland reforesting and wetlands and rethinking agriculture to vastly increase biodiversity led to one proposal for the economic reinvigoration of the whole harbour area via a locally grown timber and biomass industry which could float the timber down the estuary from the surrounding uplands.

Making the most of the wetlands Considerably expanding the existing wetlands could increase biodiversity. A new Wetlands Centre is also proposed.

A sustainable transport hub One proposal looked at connecting the principal street, Snowdon Street, to the new by-pass, and providing a transport hub linking the narrow gauge railway to the mainline, allied to bus and electric car transfer points. This hub would support a new local food market and new low carbon affordable housing.

PORTHMADOG, 2015 Local lagoon A major rethinking of the Traeth Mawr estuary and the Glaslyn river included a proposal to create new flood controls by breaching the causeway with new sluice gates: the existing lagoon becomes an organic fish farm servicing the local market.

Cookery conversion A former cinema and its adjacent courtyard are converted into a cookery school and local produce market, provocatively set up opposite the current site of Tesco.

HARLECH, 2016 The brief In response to a ‘can you help us?’ call from a group of concerned residents of Harlech, 20 CAT students devised a community consultation day, based in a local café and operating out of a van that roamed around the town, from beach to castle to shops. Students then prepared ideas for the town, based on what they had learned from the consultation day, before mounting an open exhibition of their ideas in several public locations around the town. Our intention was not to ‘solve’ problems, but to provide food-for-thought and discussion for the community of Harlech, so that they could start to ‘design for themselves’.

Vertical beach huts Beach huts on the scale of the beach! Reinventing the beach hut, and exaggerating it to make a point, to tempt people to use the beach and to appreciate its scale.

Beach café A beach café in the sand dunes: a low-impact, seasonal facility, which would draw visitors through the dunes to the beach.

Many visitors seemed reluctant to walk far from the beach car park. This café tempts them to explore the wonders of one of the best beaches in Wales!

HARLECH, 2016 University of the Third Age A re-imagining of the derelict Coleg Harlech residential tower, to create a residential study centre for the University of the Third Age.

A water-balanced lift

Business incubators

A water-balanced lift to transport people between the lower town and the upper town. Just as Harlech Castle was a technological exemplar of its time, so can this lift be a technological and sustainable exemplar. Hence one is juxtaposed against the other. Its designer also wanted to bring water back to the base of the castle.

Two different projects that aim to provide facilities to foster business start-ups: one in a prominent existing building on the High Street (re-use = sustainable); the other a new-build facility in a very public space near to the railway station.

HARLECH, 2016 Morfa Harlech nature reserve centre Another re-imagination of the redundant Coleg Harlech residential tower, to create a visitor and study centre and residential hostel for Morfa Harlech.

A new market-place and railway station A new market-place and railway station at the base of the castle. Seeking to build on the sustainable transport that is the existing railway (with an improved frequency of service), this proposal seeks to draw people to the lower town, to create the kind of ‘meeting ground’ that markets used to be.

HARLECH, 2016 Dramatic Harlech A theatre school for Harlech, using both the dramatic building that is Theatr Harlech and the redundant residential tower.

A kelp farm and therapy centre There is no shortage of seaweed in the Harlech area, and this proposal aims to tap into this natural resource, to provide employment and to attract visitors to its treatment ‘spa’.

MACHYNLLETH, 2018 The brief The challenge was how to make Machynlleth more sustainable and climate-resilient, drawing on key models for sustainable living, such as the One Planet Living, Ecological and Carbon Footprinting and CAT’s own Zero Carbon Britain research project.

The solutions must be site-specific, therefore the first step was investigating the development context, i.e. the town of Machynlleth and its inhabitants. The second stage involved developing a masterplan for the town that would support and encourage sustainable lifestyles, and the final stage involved the design of one building included in the masterplan.

Sustainable food growing Exploring how sustainable food growing and food initiatives can act as a catalyst for changing the way we live.

Community-led initiatives Machynlleth has a strong sense of community – this project looked at how community-led initiatives can help with the transition to more sustainable ways of living.

MACHYNLLETH, 2018 Healthy high streets This design looks at the issue of community and identity, celebrating festiveness, belonging and nature using the existing market as a way of facilitating the shift towards sustainability.

Catalyst for sustainable living This design proposal looks at the issue of flooding, food and community businesses as a catalyst for sustainable living and lifestyle change.

Managing the floods Flooding is one of the main threats to the town. This proposal looked at how this could be addressed, and includes a teaching facility, water recycling, a reedbed system, and even a spa.

MACHYNLLETH, 2018 Nature connection Access to nature has been shown to advance wellbeing and encourage environmental awareness. This design explored ways of increasing access to nature alongside growing and agroforestry.

A new waterfront Looking at flooding from a defensive point of view, this proposal introduces a new waterfront and gateway to the town.

Flooding, waste and sustainable transport Flooding, waste and sustainable transport are three of the key challenges for this rural community. This proposal explored how these issues could be addressed in the context of climate change.

MACHYNLLETH, 2018 Craft quarter A craft-making quarter is proposed as a way of helping reverse the decline of the high street, whilst opening up opportunities for more sustainable ways of living and working.

A working hub This design proposal looks at the opportunities for sustainable businesses and proposes a new shared working hub that incudes shared workshops, shops, hot-desking, maker space, business incubators and exhibition space in the heart of the town.

Stopping the brain drain Many rural towns and villages struggle to keep their young people from moving away. This design looks at affordable housing and growing spaces as well as a business incubator to aid employment and stop the brain drain.

MACHYNLLETH, 2018 A floating market Machynlleth is at great risk of being marooned as sea levels rise. These designs look at ways of addressing flash, fluvial and pluvial flooding, including new canal ways, a floating market and a boatyard.

A new town centre This design proposal looks at the issues of flash flooding, the decline of the high street and lack of skills, proposing a maker centre within the town as a way of addressing these issues and facilitating more sustainable ways of living.

Changing transport A cycling centre, pedestrianisation, electric car points and car sharing are all explored as solutions for sustainable, affordable rural transport.

A new transport hub This design proposal looks at the issue of the sustainable transport systems and proposes a new transport hub for the town.

STUDY FOR A MASTERS IN SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE The Centre for Alternative Technology’s MArch: Sustainable Architecture programme offers architects an ARB-prescribed Part II qualification from the pioneer of sustainability practice.

This highly practical course combines design-based academic study with hands-on learning, helping students to develop new insights as they expand their critical awareness of current architectural and environmental problems.

With an experienced team of in-house lecturers complemented by specialist guest speakers and external designers, this unique course offers the opportunity to learn from a wide range of academics and practitioners.

As the projects showcased here illustrate, students also have the chance to get involved in community projects as well as the opportunity to build some of their own designs, allowing them to develop real-world practical experience.

Find out more at www.cat.org.uk/graduateschool

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT

www.cat.org.uk study@cat.org.uk +44 (0) 1654 705953