Echoes of Equity
"Echoes of Equity" is a socio-spatial experiment in designing dignified, inclusive environments for ageing populations across class lines. Rooted in Sheffield’s post-industrial fabric, the project reimagines retirement not as isolation, but as collective memory-making, empowerment, and play. Inspired by characters from The Big Short, the architectural narrative follows Mark Baum—once a cynical financier—who, driven by guilt and reflection, funds a communal residence for both winners and losers of past economic crises.
The proposal challenges conventional elderly housing by designing for creative aging, where workshops in music, carpentry, yoga, and performance foster physical vitality and emotional connection. Carefully zoned vertical programming promotes transitions between activity and rest, privacy and collectivity. The building embodies care, connection, and sustainability through sensory-responsive design, natural materiality, and spatial legibility.
Reused steel, ceramics, and rammed earth express a material language of time and adaptation, while terraces, corridors, and canal-side gardens serve as platforms for intergenerational exchange. Life is not merely extended here—it is invigorated. Even after death, Mark’s apartment transforms into a life memorial gallery, turning memory into architecture.
This is not a facility. It’s a foundation. A home that listens, a space that heals, and a place where equity echoes—through sound, light, and touch.
