Claire Milnes 2020
Community Housing
Stromness is noticeably split into two sides, the main town position to the east and the ever-growing developments on the over side facing the west. Between each half a high school sits central at the peak of the unsheltered bay. The master plan introduces many new designs that will help improve Stromness immensely, particularly a sports centre, business hubs and affordable housing. These designs are predominantly situated along the shoreline to help create a visible connection between the two sides and to increase the amount of sheltered space within the town. All aspect of this proposal aims to renew the strong sense of community that is so apparent throughout the island of Orkney.
The bridge if a fundamental part of the whole master plan as it creates a direct link between both sides. Literally reconnecting the route to complete the community and providing a new direction of access round thru town. The main low road in Stromness connect to the bridge at the point where the old ferry terminal was located; on the west side the bridge join to the new road and provides access to the new ferry terminal and the proposed public sports sports centre. At each end the bridge meets a different functional space. This design aims to encourage and promote a safe, healthier method of transport and a direct route across to the other side of the town. It will also enable easy access for the exportation and importation of products and encourage the expansion and raise the tourist appeal of the island.
In order to accommodate for the continuous movement of boats through the bay one section of the bridge will open to create an entrance and help to control the flow of marine traffic. This mechanism will be one of the main focal points and will allow visitors and pedestrians to watch the boat pass through from the restaurant and the viewpoint on the walkway. Splitting diagonally the two raised halves will symbolise the sails of boats once opened and aesthetically will create a significantly stroking feature.
Krasmir Banchev 2020
Krasmir Banchev 2020
Krasmir Banchev 2020
In the near future there will be demand for a large number of new homes to be built on Orkney. Orkney also has a rising elderly population with the need for solutions to tackle social isolation within the elderly population. This project for social housing scheme in the centre of Kirkwall, Orkney aims to tackle these issues through a low rise high density housing scheme.
The project is made up of 6 blocks of flats wrapped around enclosed courtyards, creating a series of narrow pedestrian streets and large courtyards. The deep housing blocks act as a wind barrier to the courtyards. The courtyard becomes a sanctuary from the strong Orcadian winds, a garden where children can play, people can meet and garden, and communal gathering can take place.
The scheme aims to be housing for all ages with is a mixture of housings sizes of 2 and 3 bedroom flats. The smaller flats are located on the ground floor where individuals that may live alone have direct access to the courtyard and street giving them more chance for social interaction. Located above are the 3 bedroom flats that are fully accessible by lift.
Each flat has a central space that can be used as another room, instead of a corridor or an open plan flat it becomes a space that can be opened up or closed off. This central space in some flats is the kitchen in which all rooms around it become flexible. In other flats the central space becomes the flexible room.