ACTIVELY ARCHIVING 'FEMINIST-FIGURES' AND EXPLORING ARDWICK AS A PRECEDENT FOR FEMINIST CITY PLANNING....
CREATING A SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY SPACE AND 'ACTIVE ARCHIVE' BY TAKING A FEMINIST APPROACH TO PEOPLE AND SPACES.
FEMINIST FIGURES ARCHIVE
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ARDWICK
Study Level
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Year
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Institution​
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Location
BA Architecture Year 3​
2021
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Manchester School of Architecture // PRAXXIS
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Ardwick, Manchester
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Located on Grafton Street, Manchester, the Feminist archive sits between two distinct campuses of the city: the University and Royal Infirmary hospital. On the site of the former home of Emmeline Pankhurst, the archive sympathetically responds to the existing narrative of the area and builds upon the exhibition and community-centric programmes of the Pankhurst Centre to become a claimable space for local people. The archive design stems from foundational theories of Feminist Urban planning and is part of a larger scheme to re-route and re-map Upper Brook street - a dangerous corridor road into the city centre west of the archive.
The archive features three internal programmes of crèche, cafe and exhibition to create a space that provides refuge, relaxation and learning for the disregarded suburb of Ardwick. A central courtyard space ties the new addition to its historic counterpart and provides a garden for local residents who may not have one; bringing together generations of the community.
The archive is built upon a cradle-to-cradle ideology in which carbon usage is minimised at all stages of the building’s lifetime and it is designed to be easily adapted or taken apart and recycled when it outgrows its purpose by using a mixture of prefabrication and modular design.
THE INTERIOR ARCHIVE
PROGRAMME
The key programme of the archive is of course the archives. There are two forms of archival matter held in the archive, special documents that are private and must be requested and are protected and preserved. Also, public archives which are not, however, rows of filing shelves with documents and books to be examined in silence, instead are part of an interactive and engaging display throughout the space. The ‘museum’ space is flexible; housing different temporary exhibitions weaving together the narratives of these local ‘Feminist Figures’. The archive is interactive in the sense that it uses both digitalised materials as well as reading rooms and computer labs, but also in the sense of being user-participative. The archive features recording booths where people can record their own stories of the area of their encounters with Feminism. These stories are then played in listening booths for visitors to hear anonymously creating a shared sense of community that is both loud and quiet. The archive intends to engage people of all ages and to address and provoke the Feminist in all us..
SITE ANALYSIS
PROGRAMME FINDING AND ZONING
EXPLORING THE FEMINIST FIGURES AND MAPPING VIA THEIR ARTEFACTS
DIGITAL, ANALOGUE AND ACTIVE
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Crucial to the archive is the use of both digital, analogue and social mediums, bringing an interactive and modern-age layer to the site whilst celebrating the significance of analogue archives and artefacts as story-tellers. The mix of digital and physical is intermittent around the exhibition to keep the route and pace interesting for both adults and children. Digital exhibits include interactive full-size touch screens as well as smaller tablet-style screens. The entrance space features individual life-size screens with changing images of ‘local heroes who can be voted in and recommended by the public and on the website for the archive. This gives the archive a foundation for interaction with the community and a social presence. Analogue archives will include clothing, banners, artefacts and books and texts that tell the story of the fight for Feminism in the UK. Alongside the digital and physical and social layers to the archive, there is a fourth layer in the listening, recording booths and talk space that allow visitors to tell their own stories and listen to others like them This fourth layer of ‘the personal’ is crucial in creating a sustainable and well-connected, community-centred building.
A CLAIMABLE SPACE
The principals of the archive design extend from Feminist Planning theory of a claimable space in the city. The archive is traditionally a closed-off protected space. The feminist archive challenges this, giving it additional layers of programme that make it a welcoming space for the local community. The crèche gives local women a break from the balance of unpaid/paid work, whilst the reading and computer room provide resources for students and residents. The cafe is a central meeting space for the local elderly population, while the community courtyard gives green-spaces back to Ardwick: a play space for the children and a garden-away-from-home for ‘gardenless’ city dwellers.
UNDERSTANDING FEMINISM IN HISTORY
VISUALISING THE COURTYARD
WHAT MAKES UP AN ARCHIVE?
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The programme was split into six sections regarding the three main programmatic elements already established and additional spaces for services and entrance. The programme sections are then split further into smaller programme zones, which indicate the amount of space each programme would require. This diagram helps to understand the separate spaces needed for each zone which informs the placement and distribution of the programmes. The archive has several types of spaces, exhibition spaces that must be linked physically, special archive space which requires a different internal environment and acoustics and so is separated from the other spaces and a talk space which must be large and tall enough for acoustics and impact.
The crèche need an entrance/ reception space that is separate from the main entrance to allow for easier access and drop off. It also needs its own ancillary space with toilets, staff rooms and kitchenette. The cafe requires fewer elements but needs to have public and visual access to encourage new visitors.
1:20 SECTION SHOWING THE POYCARBONATE CLADDING
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The cafe and crèche are adjacent to allow a visual and physical connection but also one which is partially obscured to meet safeguarding regulations. The partition walls give a glimpse into the children playing next door while not intruding on the cafe space. The archive runs the length of the building and follows the curve of the courtyard leading to the double-height talk space, it then circulates onto the second floor and to reading and computer spaces. The special archive has its own dedicated floor, limiting access and creating a quiet space with its own typology. The cores link the entire building like a ‘Feminist spine’, while the archive acts like the arteries for circulation.
THE ACTIVE ARCHIVE
The archive intends to be in a continuous state, where local women and others can be nominated to feature in the exhibitions. It is active in the sense that it is made up of flexible exhibits that grow and evolve with current histories, and interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to share their own stories.
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The lecture space brings in these inspirational figures for workshops and talks to actively get local women and children involved, while the crèche is linked with the archive and learning spaces to educate and bring up a new Feminist generation.
REMAPPING OF UPPER BROOK STREET
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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A key theme in my project alongside the development of the archive space was re-mapping and rethinking Ardwick as a precedent for a vision of a Feminist streetscape. The section//plan map to the left explores a finalised proposal that implements feminist urban planning ideas from the earlier readings and research and fits it into existing planning guidelines in terms of road width/ speed and height standards.
The importance of making our cities and streets safer has become an ever-more relevant and pressing issue in the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s murder when out walking home at night in March 2021. Her death has sparked a new wave of anger towards women’s lack of safety going about our daily lives on the streets we live in, with new statistics emerging that 97% of women have been sexually harassed or assaulted during their lives. The need for change is, of course, more deeply rooted in societal issues but as architects and planners of the city, it is crucial we consider our responsibility to at least create a streetscape that doesn’t make an environment where harassment is easily hidden and gives women a sense of safety and welcome. Beyond these practicalities, the map shows the re-populating of the street by all groups especially those who before now considered the street a dangerous place to walk. Wider pathways, a Dutch-style cycle lane, and more frequent crossing points make the road safer to commuters in the day, while increased bus stop points and a resting area make it more accessible for older or disabled people, and high and low-level street lighting and separation from vehicle to pedestrian by raised beds make it a safer walk at night.
CONCEPTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
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EXPLORING FORM AND FUNCTION
EXPLORING FORM AND FUNCTION
EXPLORING FORM AND FUNCTION