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.
Reading and Re-Writing Place: A Response to Landscape
Creating good places demands an informed and critical response to place and context. Only through a considered response to landscape can we make places which are locally distinct, use resources responsibly, take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the site, overcome the challenges of topography and climate and embrace the spirit of a place. This is an approach which is at the heart of our working ethos. The studio is founded on the principle that we must first understand and interpret, at various scales and various levels, the contexts and places in which we work.