Staying Curious
Alongside design projects, Amanda makes time for research, teaching (at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University), reading, observing and reflecting on the world around us and the issues affecting architecture, art, landscape and placemaking in Wales and beyond. In this blog you can find a collection of essays, reviews and reflections relating to the work of Situated Studio.
Waiting Space
With production coming to an end in 2008, the Spode pottery works now sits largely derelict at the heart of Stoke-on-Trent. One or two buildings have been repurposed and a few demolished, but the majority of the city-like site is subject to decay at various rates. It feels abandoned and forgotten, with the fabric of the buildings and objects left behind traces of the activities and life which once occupied the myriad spaces. Weather has been eroding and peeling back the layers and nature is slowing taking over. There is a strange quietness which hangs inside and in between the buildings; almost like they are waiting for something to happen. The exposed construction and direct nature of the redundant buildings lends a sense of realness to this fascinating place.
IN AND BETWEEN
We have been exploring ways in which architects can work with the ‘sensory elements of space’. Those sensory elements, such as light, wind, movement, views, heat and cold, are the qualities that fill the spaces we create when we practice architecture – the spaces in and between buildings. We believe that by being better at observing these qualities, adding new layers to the design process and rethinking our approach to environmental design, we can offer architecture which is more generous in the experiences it provides for people without necessarily costing more.