Sam Bradford
Mediate
Seaweed is a natural product with incredible properties that is starting to be utilised increasingly in today’s climate; with local offshore farms beginning to sprout up in Cornwall, the Par Horticultural Seaweed Centre is both a processing plant for horticultural seaweed products and a community space for locals and tourists alike. While distributing these amazing products across the country it was also important to ensure that the project also gave back to the community, with spaces for events, a beautiful garden to enjoy and tourist attractions to experience; bringing people together in Cornwall and providing a new route for income in one of the most impoverished counties in England. Each “wing” of the dock represents the two areas of both ‘production’ and ‘community,’ combining in their use and processing of seaweed.
My project, ‘MEDIATE’ aims to become the joining space for the different elements of Par Sands area. The design joins together the grey industrial landscape to the west of the site and the natural beaches and seascape to the East.
The connection is derived from the seaweed processing method, taking seaweed hatchlings out to sea, and then drawing them back in to be processed at the intermediary factory and tourist spot. Visitors are welcomed in to be involved in part of the production process and see how nori seaweed sheets are processed from start to finish. The surrounding landscape on the site allows visitors to have regular resting spots with aimed views to the surrounding landscapes that seem to contradict one another and are connected through my project ‘Mediate’.
The nori factory has a combination of timber and corrugated aluminium cladding separating the two parts of the building that have come together, one that belongs to the seaside and one that belongs to the industrial area of Par Sands. Inside the building there is a series of spaces with a visitor walkway intertwined within the process to create a full route through the building.
Instagram: sbradford_arch
Email: sbradford761@gmail.com
Introduced in the heart of Reading Town, Hogmanay, the Scottish celebration of New Years, brings a large infusion of culture and festivity to the local area. Cock-a-Leekie soup, being an integral cuisine of the Scottish, accompanies the festivities. The influx of Hogmanay culture, introduced by the arrival of the Soup Facility, will indulge Reading in a host of traditions that seek to bring people together to celebrate the New Year and the fresh start that follows midnight. On New Year’s Eve in Reading, the public are invited to join in the activities, including; farming the ingredients for the soup, trying the soup, setting Juniper branches alight at midnight, Ceilidh dancing, drinking homemade Gin, and the chance to watch as the chefs produce the soup from raw ingredients on site.
Cock a Leekie , Scotland, Timber, Homemade, Feathers, New years
