A Framework of Care
Located in Mayfield, Manchester, the project responds to the uncertainty and displacement experienced by local businesses following years of disruption caused by the proposed HS2 development. Positioned between two railway lines, it seeks to strengthen economic resilience by providing support for both existing and emerging businesses.
The proposal is informed by the Arabic word Sanad: a person who acts as your backbone, offering strength, protection, grounding and comfort in moments of instability. This concept is translated into a business incubator that provides flexible workspaces, making spaces, meeting rooms, advice services, market halls and mobile business infrastructure, creating opportunities for businesses to grow, connect and adapt.
Beyond programme, Sanad becomes an architectural framework that shapes the atmosphere of the project. Through shelter, enclosure, materiality and landscape, the spaces aim to foster a sense of care, belonging and support for both individuals and the wider community. While centred around business incubation, the proposal also creates opportunities for engagement beyond entrepreneurship through public gathering spaces, market activity and everyday interaction, allowing people of different ages and backgrounds to participate in and benefit from the life of the site.
Designed as a temporary intervention, the project adopts Design for Disassembly principles, including reversible connections and transportable elements. Once economic resilience has been established, the structure can be dismantled and relocated, allowing this framework of care to support another community facing uncertainty elsewhere.
