A remedy for memory

Reflecting upon the damaging memory within the physical fabric of Redcliffe, A Stitch Through Redcliffe was formed. The first of these damaging memories is how the Transatlantic Slave Trade was the genesis of the modern globalised trade, consumerism and its destructiveness.

Inspired by Redcliffe’s commercial history the aim is to boost craft moving away from mass produced goods and the homogeneity of towns and city centres towards a smaller, simpler and more local commerce using the land available in the site to produce food and herbal medicines, Imperialism in everyday life is challenged focussing on tea, arguably the most ‘British drink of all’, in my scheme where tea is grown, sold, and used as healthcare for the community; proposing localised production against modern consumerism.

Although slavery is seen as something that was abolished nearly 200 years ago, modern slavery is immensely prominent in the same supply chains such as in that of tea, this barbaric memory and current condition is contested through my scheme. The next, when talking about the Blitz, is the inhumane urban grain that was re-instated post-war which provided a lack of opportunity for street level engagement and any culture or identity being embedded into the site. My proposal has a focus on careful crafting architecture that has a connection to the community, as opposed to the hostile post-war housing blocks that occupy the site. The relationship between the person and building is drawn from the Medieval period, repairing the ground floor of Freeling House and incorporating a new street bringing back human-scale back to Redcliffe. A strategy was defined through collage, grafting medieval streets and markets onto the Pre-Blitz grain of Redcliffe to re-establish a pedestrianised street of North to South connection.

My project proposes an evolved community and recognises the variability of ‘found’ materials to develop a local character, questioning globalisation, and creates a new ground plane using reclaimed bricks taken from the site to create a brick plinth to ensure the durability of my new timber structure. The experiences for the resident’s of the social housing blocks was integral to my design, providing the community with additional facilities and bringing grand features from the Georgian houses of Colston Parade.