Repairing and adapting the Ivor Iron Works for the makers of today

Through the drive for economic growth and ecologically toxic architecture that is being produced, vernacular architecture has been lost, with traditional techniques and resources abandoned for quicker and cheaper methods. By re-imagining how traditional materials and methods can be employed within today’s society, the British vernacular can be brought back to the forefront of design, whilst in turn helping combat climate change. Natural materials and ‘low tech’ construction methods also lend themselves to community participation and self-build. This project will identify how these principles can be applied within a small community, in order to design an efficient and sustainable scheme. 

In recent years, there has been an awakening to the importance of the climate emergency, and the opportunity we have to re-establish the relationship between rural and urban, landscape and industry, human and nature. In the construction sector, there are many concepts and notions which highlight the ways in which it is possible to design and produce architecture in a low carbon, regenerative way. Therefore, the principles of the circular economy and vernacular architecture will be explored and employed throughout the proposal.

The proposal aims to reignite the area as a hotspot for manufacture, offering a variety of spaces from making, designing, and exhibiting. A network of buildings and public spaces will encourage the community to celebrate and utilise this sustainable development. The existing building will be converted into the hub of the site, and new interventions will be constructed stage-by-stage in an organic attitude. The proposal will be based on a self-build, community-led programme which directly addresses the towns need for education and employment.

In order to begin the design process, I wanted to understand the community of Dowlais and its needs, identifying key factors to carry forward: the need for education and employment, the importance that the Ivor Works once had, and the importance of the people of Dowlais.  The project seeks to bring the community back to the Ivor Works, in turn set up the framework for local employment and education. The proposal enables the revival of production, honouring the manufacturing heritage of the site, but re-purposing it for the makers of today, and returning the site to the people of Dowlais.