Sanderson, L., Stone, SH., Lee, SJ., 2017.

Bakewell : Some Ideas

Continuity in Architecture and Bakewell Town Hall are pleased to present "Bakewell: Some Ideas" an exhibition showcasing work undertaken in Bakewell by more than 15 postgraduate architecture students at the Manchester School of Architecture.

Continuity in Architecture is a postgraduate atelier, which has been established at the Manchester School of Architecture for more than 20 years. The atelier runs programmes for the design of new buildings and public spaces within the existing urban environment. The emphasis is on the importance of place and the idea that design of architecture can be influenced by the experience and analysis of particular situations. This interpretation of place can provide a contemporary layer of built meaning within the continuity of the evolving town or city.

The Manchester School of Architecture is an innovative collaboration between the Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester. It is the biggest School of Architecture in the country and was recently placed 6th in the world listings of schools of architecture.

Over the last academic year the atelier has been working in Bakewell. The aim of the project was to investigate the nature of home and its application in the local context of this town. This includes investigations into the possibility and practicality of placing a substantial number of thoughtfully designed, affordable homes into the town.

It is quite a straightforward process to copy the designs of early generations. It is also quite easy to design something that is deliberately eccentric and flamboyantly contrasts with the surrounding context. But the middle ground is much more challenging. The design of a building that is utterly sympathetic and appropriate for the situation, but is also observes the needs and lifestyles of the population of the twenty-first century is the difficult task that the students have been set. To look as if it has always been there, but equally is also obviously completely contemporary is a difficult and thought-provoking project.

The Master's level students from Continuity in Architecture have looked at eight sites within the boundaries of Bakewell. A proposal for each site has been developed. The solutions range from clustered affordable housing, to live-work units, to multi-generational living. The projects consider many aspects of living, society and culture: the intimate investigation of function and character of the collection of homes, the form of the different buildings and the nature of the individual rooms. Every project considers the surrounding vernacular traditions and history of the site combined with the changing needs of a twenty-first century population. These proposals will not be built, but are simply ideas generated by the students.