Chance Island Village
Client: Chance Heritage Trust
[2022]
With BPN Architects, Integral, Jon Lowe Heritage and E3 Consulting
Concept and feasibility study of former a glassworks site in Smethwick, focusing on access to the canal system; creating positive sounds; referencing site history through spatial principles; and revealing heritage assets.
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Atmosphere and Narrative
Pre-industry Smethwick was a hamlet of 1830 acres of meadows and arable/pastural land. This ‘green’ space, post industry has very much been lost, with the outdoor environment now being of well below average score. Glass making has also been lost. Though largely Chance, Glassmaking was introduced by Thomas Shutt, who began building a works on part of Blakeley Hall farm beside the Birmingham Canal west of Spon Lane. Through this design, these two fundamental character elements can collide to reveal heritage and create greener sustainable spaces that Smethwick is particularly deprived of. Pre-industrial hedgerows, tree boundaries, arable land, ditches and meadows, are now, in the 21st century, urban forest edges, phytoremediation fields , rainwater ingress gardens , green roofs and grow spaces. More than just sustainability, this is about creating a new sensory atmosphere for both spectacle and contemplative moments. Within that, glass forms and processes are reinterpreted in landscape forms; glass itself is used; physical memories are retained; and a story told through innovative art-as-landscape.
Positive sounds.
The negative impact of rail and road should not be simply mitigated. Therefore the composition of building and landscape creates a more dynamic approach that has the potential to improve over time without negating other valuable functions of place. Building arrangements creates quieter ‘bubbles’ of garden and courtyard. More open areas are designed to reflect sound, but also draw attention to a positive soundscape. The crunch of gravel or recycled glass aggregate underfoot, tree movement, birdsong , water trickles , rustling grass and the sound of playful activity now become the focus of attention.
