A TOWN FROZEN IN TIME
'Exploring the consequences of the loss of industrial capacity within the town of Crewe in the 1970s, regarding collective memory and heritage. Establishing a new technical university on the site of the Old Crewe Works.'
The final year thesis project argues that small northern towns like Crewe suffered rapid economic decline and loss of cultural heritage due to the deindustrialisation policies from the 1960s, and 1970s, when Britain shifted its focus from manufacturing to the service sector.
However, towns like Crewe, which had little economic diversity felt heavily the loss of industrial capacities, and forced many of their residents to seek employment outside the town. Moreover, as the production levels dwindled, a rapid demolition of industrial buildings began, which resulted in Crewe losing most of its heritage by the beginning of the current century.
These findings led to the development of a proposal for the regeneration of Crewe, which was based on promoting higher education and economic growth through carefully executed architectural interventions. The result is a university campus design, informed by the environmental conditions and the cultural features of the town. For example, the school incorporates an existing building, which informed the use of terracotta throughout the project, as a tribute to the heritage of the site. The tram network design, on the other hand, was presented to the people of Crewe as a reward for their efforts to build a sustainable and independent transport network.
In summary, the proposal to establish a new university campus and connect it to the rest of the town via a tram network was primarily aimed to find a sustainable way of regenerating Crewe. This in time will lead to the establishment of the town as a technological and research hub, which will provide a steady source of income for its residents.
