Prologue - First Encounters

The site sits within a dense block, often overlooked and woven into the street as a whole (Figure 2), a part of an amalgamation of styles, eras and typologies of the High street. When walking along the high-street the elevation is rarely viewed as a two dimensional plane, instead in glimpses and at an askew. (Figure 1) What is seemingly solid and impermeable, on closer inspection reveals itself through a series of voids, thresholds and extrusions giving glances into the buildings past, purpose and programme (Figure 3). Figure 4 investigates the narrow alleyways bordering the site reveals the hidden and unspoken programmes and purposes behind the frontage of the high street as it is usually seen. In contrast the south of the site reveals a different narrative. Neglected and vacant the site can initially be seen an a eyesore and a void as explored in Figure 5, but on closer inspection reveals a detritus of items which reveal elements of the buildings past, present and future (Figure 6)