An Educational Centre for Heritage Craft and Conservation Skills

The project aims to address the decreasing historical identity of Neath, whilst providing opportunities for the community to teach and learn heritage craft. Another key theme that is central to the scheme is ruin preservation and how this can benefit the community in a multitude of ways.

The Neath Abbey ruins are being conserved with the funding of the Welsh Government, while the financial needs of the local community are being blindly dismissed. By creating a space for learning and celebrating heritage craft skills, this decentralises the preservation of the ruins, enabling the community to contribute and gain invaluable employable attributes.

The final proposal was achieved through an iterative process, which was informed by the identification of Neath Abbey's former uses. The planning configuration was then resolved as mostly an insertion - the building housed by the ruins. Architecturally, the building is made up of reimagined spaces and connecting thresholds. The reimagined spaces are the key teaching and celebration areas, which are modern interpretations of traditional monastery rooms, whereas the thresholds deviate from this and represent entirely contemporary forms.

Reflecting on the project, the main aims were primarily directed towards community impact, which the scheme addresses through the opportunities it provides for gaining employable skills and qualifications. It is equally a space for public enjoyment, which expresses appreciation for the surrounding natural context and the possibilities of utilising the outdoors.