Barnaby Maynard: Co-op++
Co-op++ has been proposed in response to current problems surrounding Rottingdean’s rapidly stagnating social climate and the community becoming isolated from one another as a result of consumerism. This, in turn, making the community irresponsive to wider, social, economic and political issues surrounding sustainability and in my case food production and transport.
From my research, I evaluated that this was predominantly down to the introduction of a convenience driven lifestyle and the way that the current Architectural fabric allows this consumerism to flourish, through movement control, architectural blockades, segregation and spatial condition. Since the arrival of large profit driven companies such as Tesco Express there has been an overwhelming transformation in the views and the lifestyle of the community as the local businesses have begun to go out of business as convenience is proving all to appealing. This has resulted in a lack of environmental awareness and isolation within members of the community.
Re: Co-op++ tackles all of the issues that have been mentioned above through its architectural form, positioning and programme. The final proposal consists of 4 predominant spaces, each relevant in their implementation into Rottingdean’s society in a way that will provoke peoples interest and provide a use that become necessity again in the same way that the Wash House on site was nearly 100 years earlier. There are also markets held weekly which take place in the proposed Plaza space in front of Re: Co-op++, the site of Tesco’s car park with the aim of bringing together a currently fractured community.
Barnaby Maynard.