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A Palimpsest of Dust

Part 1 Project 2022
Cristian Sebastiano Rocco Francioso
Oxford Brookes University Oxford | UK
Located in a small brownfield site on East Street in Southampton, this project proposes an architecture of curiosity and constant discovery.

Through a simultaneous process of excavation and re-construction, the project reveals the ruins of James Wilson's 19th century Gothic church, which was destroyed in the blitz of 1940.

Groups of stonemasons and archaeologists collaborate within this multi-disciplinary space to unearth the forgotten structures of Southampton's pre-war past. Fragments of the past are excavated, documented and re-built, using a combination of traditional analogue techniques and cutting-edge digital tools such as 3D scanning and robotic fabrication, to form a new architecture as a reconstructed relic of what once was.

The resultant construction serves as an educational tool which facilitates a rich skills and knowledge-share across the associated disciplinary fields of archaeology, architecture, urban planning, craft, construction, heritage, and digital fabrication.

The project has been developed using a wide range of media and techniques including photogrammetry, film and animation and prototyping with rammed earth. A series of preliminary experimental projects formed a conceptual framework from which a more complex and comprehensive architecture was able to evolve. The wearable dining table was particularly important as an investigation of collaboration, communication accessibility and adaptability.

Cristian Sebastiano Rocco Francioso

Tutor(s)

2022
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