NID CADARN OND BRODYRDDE
NOT FORCE BUT FELLOWSHIP
Communities grow from the simplest of moments. Interventions within the existing landscape can speed up this process. A salmon population study in the River Taff revealed a lacking salmon and trout population within a portion of the river located in Merthyr Tydfil. The introduction of a salmon ladder by the local Wildlife Trust led to new mating destinations in the river for the first time in 500 years.
This architectural proposal plays upon the idea of creating an ‘enabler’, similar to that of the salmon ladder, in order to enhance the existing community as well as introducing a new, more diverse hive of activities. The proposal focusses on an existing community within an Industrial Estate located in the northern region on Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. The design is modular and can be introduced to varying industrial estates based upon the internal structural frames of the existing buildings. The chosen (example) estate is cut off from the surrounding human community. It is a commercially driven Industrial Estate comprised of singular typology sheds housing a variety of (often temporary and rented) businesses | companies. The existing sheds, materials and natural resources are utilised and celebrated through the introduction of the proposed new builds.
​
Overall, the proposed scheme replicates the existing buildings on site, but it is clear that they are “special” and have a different purpose. This is shown through the material choices, locations, scales, structural forms and societal standards.
​
“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
​
Jacobs talks about the importance of the street. Streets and their sidewalks are the main public places within a city and therefore, are a city’s “most vital organs”. The proposal is based around the creation of public spaces and almost accidental interaction places. Jane Jacobs expresses the importance of old buildings when intending to grow spaces. The existing buildings on site have all been kept and, through the proposal, all openly | publicly promote diversity on site.