Voidworks
Voidworks stems from a critical response to the rising trend of overdevelopment in city centres which often fail to fully consider their impact on ‘hidden fears’ such as claustrophobia and anxiety at street level. Drawing on personal observation, public consultation, and policy critique, the project reimagines a high-rise project in Manchester shifting focus from built form to the quality of experience generated around the form asking the question: Is gentle density possible?
Guided by the concept of immaterial architecture, VoidWorks uses subtractive massing to introduce voids at multiple levels, allowing light, movement, and psychological relief to prevail. Rather than treating density as synonymous with height or enclosure, the project envisions a breathable, human-centred alternative where the form, material choices and the façade treatment contribute meaningfully to how people live, feel, and experience the city at all levels, placing wellbeing above the current trend of profit-driven development.
As architects and aspiring designers, we must take responsibility for how our buildings passively shape everyday life, and how they feel when encountered. Our designs must serve both the people who occupy them and those who simply pass by as we are not just designers of buildings; we are creators of experiences.
