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The Parallel of Change

Part 1 Project 2021
Georgina Cameron
 University of Plymouth | UK
The Parallel of Change is a poetic narrative of the role of the physical environment in the creation and recall of memory and dreams. The proposed soap works and bathhouse resides in the forgotten area of industry in Millbay, allowing memories to be reinstated. The resurgence of the lost memory from a waterfront ritual that was once rich in Plymouth’s History, through presence and absence, invites a new collective to emerge over common ground. It is a reciprocal of renewal. The project understands water to be a purifying element, which provides cleansing and comfort layered with a residue of fragrance and longevity of ageing that occurs. The volumes and surfaces of the architectural design are analogues to soap narratives in respect of decay and residue. Just like soap when it gets wet, it leaves a soapy residue, therefore the building causes intentional decay and patina. The residual marks leave traces on the occupant and environment through sensory triggers dealing with light and shadow, smell, temperature, and sound. The Parallel of Change is grounded in the local identity promoting participation through programs that recall past activity and facilitate productive futures.

Tutor(s)
2021
The Soap Works and Public baths will take a holistic approach to regenerating an old ritual back to present day and therefore aligning to the manufacturing goods on the Resurgam recovery plan.
A granular diminishing process and the question of time with sea level rise, allows the design to accommodate change. Roads will become rivers, so a fully immersible experience of the surrounding changing nature is undertaken.
When moving from public to positional space, shadows enhance a journey of the unfamiliar. Without light we have no shadows and without light patina has no manifestation.
The circulation of the building has been broken down by the repetition of elements that augment the perception of dream, along with elongated shadows which distil the sense of reality. The use of fragmented shadows and reflections enhance the polarity of
To occupy the horizontal, one must reside in the vertical. The dissolved horizontal is then able to capture the moment of the vertical narrative; light. Voids have been created from a juxtaposition between the delicate and the permanent.
The language of the materiality stemmed from the conceptual idea of texture. The layers of soap create the notion of erosion and a granular displacement which plays with light. The material choice of concrete and copper reacts to the users experience with
The patina on the horizontal and vertical thresholds are selective creating a controlled order to the diminishing elements that begin to open light shafts and openings within the walls. The ephemeral material exploration challenges the notion of permanenc
The sense of arrival portrays a subconscious navigation between horizontal planes guided by the controlled vertical planes. The vista is framed to the water to create a passing threshold with a change in ground texture, walking from a fast to slow pace wh
The irony between soap and patina is featured throughout the form of the building, however they both imply a notion of residue; how traces and marks can be imprinted to allow for a future resilience. The importance of the mark left by the patina of the ci
The journey of the soap can be captured to create an opportunity of bringing individuals to the heart of the production, drawing people away from the whitewashed performance of money. This dialogue of exchange generates a threshold that moves from an area
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