A cultural hub for Resolven community

Our vision is to create a cultural hub for the community which compiles a range of performance arts spaces to foster and nurture creativity. The diversity of existing artistic groups within the community creates demand for spaces catering to a range of skills and interests. These flexible spaces become an integral part of the scheme in order to offer a diverse range of areas, maximise usage and host a variety of activities suitable for the entire community, to create a safe haven within Resolven once again.

We consider the key element in Resolven’s heritage to be its close-knit community. The theatre in the Welfare Hall has been a main factor in preserving this strong bond between the locals in the past century, which is why we believe that a revival of the auditorium will highly contribute to a rejuvenation of the town, by providing once again a key-space for the community to gather and develop new strategies to benefit the future of Resolven.

We propose the creation of a performance hub which will revive, rejuvenate, and reinforce the heart of the community through a range of artistic activities. Appreciating miners’ input, the proposal gives back to the users by offering a space for skill development and community integration. Having the potential to expand and incorporate other arts, the hall may eventually become an artistic destination for the surrounding area, strengthening the community, by addressing current needs of its residents and paying tribute to the original purpose of the Welfare Hall. By providing a backbone of revenue and income, as well as ensuring the building's continued popularity, this design will sustain the community's interest in the performing arts. The building embodies a level of transparency so that the community can see the building is use throughout all hours of the day, provided through the facade and the vertical sightlines provided by the atrium. This will encourage further use of the building.

This Phase 2 submission provided each member of the team with a solid base from which to expand their exploration of the Welfare Hall in Resolven. The ideas which were conceived as a group were taken forward in each individual project, and received positively by the local residents, including the flexible ground floor community space and the transparency of the building fabric.