Echolalia After Dark: Conservation through Raving
Echolalia After Dark is a large-scale rave space situated on Pomona Island, on the South-Western edge of Manchester city centre. In the project, echolalia is (i. e. the involuntary repetition of words, things and sounds) becomes a spatial and cultural condition through which architecture, music, and landscape continuously echo one another.
As a programme, the rave comes from pre-existing conditions on the island; therefore, it is not imposed on the site but birthed by it. On the island, raving is enshrined, protected, and spatialised by the building, allowing the architecture to become an extension of the rave’s logic. In this way, the building is not, as it is traditionally understood, a static container of nature, but a site where it, and its relations, are continuously negotiated, performed and sustained over time.
The complex is made up of ancillary spaces, which are rectangular and all fall under a long-spanning roof clad in recycled corrugated steel sheets. The rave spaces drastically contrast the single-storey space with their tall troncoid pyramid shapes. The approach is reflected in the use of recycled materials, also originating from in and around the site, while the landscape is open to the user’s interpretation and not drastically modified.
Beyond raving, the building is a testament to Manchester's history, reflecting both on music and its haven-like values, being a safe space for marginalised communities. On top of that, the complex is a witness to ground-up architecture, valuing social, political, and environmental sustainability.
