RACHEL SEXTON
‘Cruddas Park: Reshaping communal living and the urban street’ Cruddas Park, in Elswick, is a site characterised by a 1960s social housing tower block sitting above a partially disused shopping centre. The site then slopes down towards the river, where the five Riverside Dene towers are situated. The site is neglected, partially disused, and has demographic problems of being largely biased towards male residents, with no qualifications or employment. My aim was to address this demographic and economic problem through architecture. My scheme proposed transforming the shopping centre and tower into a new social and economic hub outside of the city centre, whilst improving the quality of living of the existing residents. My proposal included demolishing the majority of the shopping centre and building a covered market space of independent retail units, retaining the old concrete columns to support the new roof. The residents would be moved out of the tower, and the tower then refurbished and extended into highend apartments, creating an economic boost for the site. The residents would then be moved into new build Passivhaus terraces adjacent to the tower, which inbetween them and the tower/market would create a new sustainable urban ‘highstreet’ space. The terraces themselves provide retail units on the ground floor facing the street, with a workshop beneath. The upper two floors create a cohousing apartment with private ensuite bedrooms and a shared living space and terrace. The entire site is pedestrianised, with sustainable landscaping features aiming to create a dynamic social space, highly focused on materiality and interactions. Contact Details email: rsexton10@icloud.com tel: 07465435009 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-sexton-1a06091a2/ Address: 65 Pollyhaugh, Eynsford, Kent, DA4 0HE (full portfolio, CV and references available on request)