Activism Must Get Industrial In It's Ambitions

The activist academy is in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK. Stroud being the epicentre of activism and rebellion in the climate crisis made this site the perfect place for an activist academy. Stroud is the birthplace of XR which has garnered so much traction in the past years due to the message being widespread.

They would have protests in Stroud and then travel to London to protest there as well. Which made this project about the urban scale of the protest path from the garden of the building to the common protest areas of Stroud, due to the proximity to the train being 4 minutes it makes it a site that gathers people around the ideas of activism.

The aim of the project uses the idea of sustainability as its core value, to do this it uses the existing structure, by keeping the existing columns and beams but by reinforcing then with 100mm of concrete infill and using mild steel to build on top to create height for the other specifications. The other sustainability elements that it followed were how it was powered and the materials it used:
1. Tulip windmills, these windmills can be attached to the top of the roof to make it work like a windmill, therefore generating energy through the wind. As the building is a tall building, it will be able to generate wind energy without obstructions, as it is the tallest building in that area.
2. Solar panels, the building faces all 4 directions, by using multiple energy sources that are sustainable in nature. It can help reduce the impact of the building on the environment.
3. Hydraulic energy, as the site is surrounded by two water sources, like the canal and the river, there should be no issue to install a system that can generate energy through water as well.
4. Passive ventilation system, as my building has a void in the centre, as the air travels up and outside.
5. Sustainable materials like CLT, Sheep’s wool, Cork, Brick terrazzo made from the from the building's old bricks are also part of the sustainability aspect that reduces the carbon footprint.

To aid the passiveness of the building the aim was to meet the RIBA 2030 goals, which was done by getting a wall u-value of 0.039. The aim for this project is for people to occupy the space, have conversation about activism and be a social condenser; while using this building as a resource to aid their process as the scheme includes a reception, gathering indoor and outdoor garden, amphitheatre, hotdesking areas for the organisations to have people sign up for protests, classrooms, digital labs, poster making area, labs, a voluntary law firm and a library.