Company Quarter, Crewe
Crewe began its life as a company town, created by the Grand Junction Railway to house workers for Crewe Works. Following the deindustrialisation movement, redundancy soared and the town’s employment rates reduced, while many residents looked for employment elsewhere.
The current-day parallel to deindustrialisation is the shift towards remote working following Covid, as 28% of employed adults now class themselves as hybrid workers. However, Crewe experiences a high proportion of unemployment and, subsequently, a lack of spending. This shift is reflected in the town centre, where a significant proportion of retail units are now vacant or underutilised.
In response, Company Quarter explores the adaptive reuse of a derelict retail unit on Crewe’s high street as a community for remote workers, aiming to make people who can work anywhere belong here.
Company Quarter’s main design intent is to reduce the loneliness of the modern remote worker, as remote workers report “feeling lonely 98% more often than their fully onsite counterparts” (Dyer, 2024). It does so through a community featuring three dwelling types, with designated offices and a shared terrace creating a ‘corridor commute’. The proposal also features complementary buildings to support the remote working lifestyle, including a café and co-working hub, a gym, and a nursery.
