I completed my BA in Architecture at the University of Sheffield and worked as an Architectural Assistant in Manchester before moving to Glasgow to undertake my PgDip at the Mackintosh School of Architecture. Having gained my Part II last summer, I have since been working at John McAslan + Partners in Edinburgh whilst studying for my MArch conversion. Throughout my practice, I have had a particular interest in community, heritage, co-design and engaging with socio-political contexts, with a common thread of inclusivity and accessibility.
These themes are central to this exhibited work, my PgDip Final Design Thesis, entitled ‘Re-Claim: The Fractured Urban Block as a Nucleus of Social Justice’. This project explored the implementation of a social justice programme across a range of new-build and adaptive re-use sites within a block in central Marseille.
Located in the contested neighbourhood of Noailles, where building collapses had killed eight residents in 2018, my thesis sought to utilise the opportunities created by fractures within this urban block to integrate a nucleus of community empowerment which would serve and revitalise the existing community. The social justice programme is dispersed in pockets throughout the block, with a main social justice centre adjacent to the collapse site, housing key community and non-consumption amenities such as an assembly hall, gallery and library.
This project also had a strong focus on sustainability and was Highly Commended for the MSA Stage 5 Sustainability Prize for preserving the collective memory of the site and neighbourhood through the innovative re-use of re-claimed materials.
