enhancing the shambles - a joyous pavilion to encourage connections and frame community activities in the space.

This project acted as an introduction to the resident's of Stroud, using the brief of 'the communal gift' to create a small space within the town to help the community thrive. The proposal acts to introduce informal community expressions to create a more varied spatial experience within the town that encourages inhabitation and growth. I experimented with how architects can produce forms that allow the gradual palimpsest of the areas character and activities that the community can claim and wander through, not simply walk past - creative active spaces instead of voids.

The objects of expression added as a result of these impromptu interactions, for example a sandwich board or poster advertising a meeting, or a lost glove on a gate, present a disorderly perception of the community living in the space. I believe these temporary retrospective additions to architecture can create a more humanistic and informal atmosphere the users feel comfortable exploring.

This idea of palimpsest can also be seen throughout Stroud's architecture. Over the years different architectural
styles have been introduced next to each other, layering extensions and new builds over Stroud’s historical
buildings.

In order to achieve my proposal, I created an adaptable space, that can provide points of informal gatherings and social interactions either connected to the shambles or within a private core. The pavilion also acts as a constantly changing space that reacts to the surroundings disordered state.

I aimed to create a joyful community space that remains partially-open and playful to its users, using its atypical form to create curiosity and draw users in, whilst acting as a interactive façade. A blank slate that can be added to and encourage interactions with the building fabric itself, making it there own.

The proposal acts as a storytelling space, not simply in terms of its use as an informal meeting space, but also in its building fabric. The external frame acts to reflect Stroud's spirit and character back to the community as they walk through the space. The layering of items of the frame's shelves allows the space to hold the memories and history of the residents, whilst expressions added to the cork thresholds (such as posters and notices) presents Stroud's community in the present day and their optimism for the future.