ROOTS
Happisburgh, U.K. // The University of Nottingham, SBE // Year 2, Semester 2 // 2011
With Happisburgh facing an immanent threat collapsing into the beach due to cliff erosion, this architectural intervention is ‘injected’ in the eroded land of Happisburgh, provides facilities towards a self sustainable future. The installation consists of aquaculture and agriculture on the top level and a social hub below, . Additionally, the architecture also appeals to tourism, providing spaces that can be used by the locals as a marketplace, selling the organic harvest from the upper farm level along with recovered historical artifacts and destroyed possessions often found on the beach.
The project focused on the integration of aquaculture-agriculture as the driving forces towards revitalizing Happisburgh’s community. The system was designed contextually, and would not only provide services, but catalyze the process of the farming. The entire scheme powers itself through a system designed to utilize recycled water initially drawn and purified from the adjacent North Sea. This water will be naturally fertilized in the aquaculture pods by the growing Tilapia used in the process, and then used for the agriculture. The community-driven project focuses on a human scale collaboration, providing not only servicing facilities, but communal areas and community hubs that would serve the town’s population and tourists alike.
FARMING TILAPIA IN SPECIALIZED AQUACULTURE PODS ABOVE ALLOWS WATER TO BE NATURALLY FERTILIZED TO EFFICIENTLY GROW CROPS ON THE AGRICULTURAL LANDS. THE COOLING CHIMNEYS ALSO FUNCTION AS THE PRIMARY STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS OF THE SCHEME, ON WHICH THE LIGHTWEIGHT STEEL STRUCTURE RESTS.
WHILE THE UPPER LEVEL FUNCTIONS AS AN EFFICIENT FARMING SYSTEM, THE LOWER LEVEL FUNCTIONS AS A MARKETPLACE DESTINATION, WHERE LOCALS CAN SELL THEIR PRODUCE AND GOODS, OR USE IT AS A COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACE
UPPER FARMING LEVEL PLAN
AQUACULTURE POD SECTION
PROJECT OVERVIEW / ELEVATION