Art, Science and Community foundation for the archiving and reimagining of the hidden assets of the South Welsh Coalfield

The scheme addresses a fantastically preserved surface colliery building, reimagining it as a space for archiving the hidden languages of the South Wales coal field, including geological forms, maps of the underground mines and local memories. Paired with scientific research by organisations such as the Coal Authority and the British Geological Society and also spaces for artistic production using these assets, the Coal Field and the lost mining industry will be reimagined, encouraging interaction with the themes of heritage, emerging renewable technologies and the hidden and disappearing languages of the mines.

These themes arose from a rigorous and fruitful period of site research, that particularly looked at the underground extents of the site, which include vast underground networks of tunnels and rich geological form. This inspired the thesis theme of preserving and reimaging these hidden 'languages'.

The proposal emerged naturally from these themes. Initially inspired by the beautiful forms of the man made underground structures and geological rifts the structure incorporates the program of a network of art studios, labs and exhibition spaces into a continuous underground rift, or 'seam', that emerges from the ground through the mine shaft and morphs into a lighter strata layer that delicately weaves around the existing building. Rammed earth construction creates the feeling of encapsulation within the earth.

The final intervention sought to juggle a complex brief and even more complex conceptual and theoretical design process. At times the sheer scale of the project and the many combining elements was very hand to manage efficiently, but I am very proud of the finished proposal and have pride in the lengthy and logical process that led to it.