Course: Unit 01 National Park

This year Unit 1 looked at Pembroke Dock as our site of study, a town of 9000 people sitting quietly on the coast of Pembrokeshire in west Wales.

The town operates in a variety of somewhat contradictory ways: it is a focus of international trade of goods and resources, situated on one of the largest natural harbours in Britain surrounded by oil refineries and associated infrastructure; it is adjacent to the UK’s only coastal national park and receives a great number of tourists in its hinterland; it also ranks as one of the most deprived areas of Wales, with few of the 300,000 people travelling through the town each year seeing much beyond the Irish Ferries terminal building. All of these factors are compounded by the fact that from the 1st January 2021 the town will sit at the frontline of Brexit with the border in the Irish Sea.

As Britain leaves the European Union a question arises as to the future of Pembroke Dock. While the area voted significantly in favour of Brexit the knock-on effects could have serious implications for the future of the town.

This unit is seen from within the context of Brexit, but it is not about Brexit. It is situated in a border area, but it is not just about borders. It is specifically about Pembroke Dock and what makes it what it is. The unit is interested in the role of architecture when used as a lens for examining politics, culture, and society and exploring the term National Park in the design of buildings and landscapes.