The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
About the School of Art and Design
Location Coventry • Courses BSc (Hons) Architecture, MArch • Head of school Nick Gorse • Full-time tutors 7 • Part-time tutors 14 • Students 290 • Staff to student ratio 1:14
Undergraduate
Weronika Galecka
Course BSc (Hons) Architecture
Studio/unit brief Comprehensive Design
Project title Fading Edges
Project description This is a proposal for Coventry in 2030 and one which tackles the challenges of expanding urbanisation in the context of the layers that makes the city. The key objective is the idea of ‘fading edges’ to create more accessible environmental mobility strategies for the city centre and reclaim the public spaces for better connectivity, communal life and flourishing biodiversity. The big strategy is the reclaiming of Pool Meadow Bus Station to create a new hub for multigenerational exchange of experiences. On top of this, the project also tackles rewilding with a focus on pollinators – specifically, wild bees.
Tutor citation The strength of Weronika’s project lies in its emphasis on inclusivity. Her commitment to environmental and social agendas is commendable and the visual communication is friendly, optimistic and has a relatable quality. Hossein Sadri
Postgraduate
Jack Windridge
Course MArch
Studio/unit brief Structural Dissonances
Project title Grime-ification
Project description Exploring the dissonance between residential development and native cultures along the River Lea, this project seeks to challenge the colonial attitudes of developers by conserving the agency of the marginalised underground community of grime artists. The site is Bidder Street in east London and, by documenting fragments of grime heritage, the project integrates artefacts to make cultural and structural nodes into which the development is stitched. The result is residential, creative and performative spaces for future grime musicians, formed from an assemblage of waste materials.
Tutor citation This project combines strong theoretical reasoning with a rigorously researched construction document, a combination that has resulted in a challenging polemic to the current role of culture within the context of developing new swathes of the city. Sebastian Hicks
