Ollie Skelton

Making do  

The project looks at sustainable development/redevelopment through the repair and adaptation of a series of derelict railway warehouses in the south east of Nottingham’s city centre.

The old GNR warehouses sit at the south side of larger area of wasteland, previously occupied by the railway and industrial uses. The site has been left derelict since it was cleared in the 1980s, changing ownership and making profit for investors while leaving local people no better off.The thesis suggests a grass roots method of developing the site over a long period of time, allowing the land to be opened to public use as a park before it is (or isn’t) one day developed.

To facilitate this the GNR warehouses will be converted into a sustainable building centre, acting part as school and part as factory for people to come and experiment with living in the area, to set up groups as community land trusts and eventually develop the area themselves.The centre itself is designed to be built in stages, each leading on to the next as funding/resources become available over a period of many years. The architecture created is designed to be as loose fit as possible, creating a series of robust and adaptable spaces.