The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
About the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Location Bath | Courses BSc (Hons) Architecture, MArch, Architect Degree Apprenticeship Level 7 | Head of school Alex Wright | Full-time tutors 38 | Part-time tutors 48 | Students 555 | Staff to student ratio 1:9
Undergraduate
Jamie Ferguson
Course BSc (Hons) Architecture
Studio/unit brief Quadrifurcus [Crossroads]
Project title Hearth
Project description Set in Oxford, Hearth connects to and enhances the city’s existing Windrush Tower, suggesting an alternative to the fractured social model of the nuclear home. It is the development of an intentional community within an existing block, while providing efficient access to sustainable, low-cost heat and power. It is implemented in phases, intended to combat gentrification, and allow residents to shape the space. District heating comes first. An anaerobic digester powers the scheme and, adorned with a playpark, becomes the project’s heart. Subsequently, low-cost, demountable timber social accommodation is built.
Tutor citation While this is a project of high ambition, the approach is not one of imposed intervention. Instead, it is carefully phased. Each stage is autonomous, without relying on the next to feel complete, providing an intriguingly open-ended evolution. Daniel Wong, Matthew Wickens
Postgraduate
Abbey O’Rawe
Course MArch
Studio/unit brief Regenerative Cities
Project title Respiratory Health and Environmental Interpretation
Project description This project responds to the critical levels of PM2.5 pollution that plague Turin, present due to the high concentration of industrial plant, persistently high levels of road traffic and topography of the Po Valley, in which the city lies. It seeks to bring together specialist respiratory health facilities, holistic and non-conventional medicines, environmental research and sustainable innovation into one facility. It aims to become an exemplar for the promotion of sustainable wellbeing. A strong focus is placed on environmental principles and landscape, looking at using innovative approaches and adaptive reuse.
Tutor citation Abbey has demonstrated enormous creativity and invention in producing a sophisticated and rigorous response to the brief, ranging from the urban scale to the design detail of the proposition. It is a mature and beautiful example of the integration of place, purpose and architecture. Alan Keane, Alex Wright