Looting and Swapping: Alternative Approach to Retaining History Part 1 Project 2024 James Ellwood Oxford Brookes University Oxford | UK Looting and Swapping: the issue and the response. Currently museums, notably the British Museum, often display looted artifacts, obscuring their unethical origins. The Exchange and Discovery Centre addresses this by involving communities in the storage and management of artifacts. Items are unearthed through archaeology or created through the Exchange, where objects are repaired, swapped and stored. This approach allows objects to transition gradually to the Discovery, reflecting the communities’ evolving needs and interests, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility. Situated in Bell Lane Creek, Wandsworth, the project draws inspiration from local history, forgotten narratives, and notably the lost canal, a vestige rebuilt within the plan. Buildings are created from earth derived materials, to show weathering, human traces and imperfections. Showcased in the integration of mistakes within the plan formed from wider studies of ‘Junctions,’ the overlapping of pathways that initiate recurring events.As the building conveys more about the people of Wandsworth, the materials thus evolve into a poignant testament to the echoes of the past, with the value lying not in the building’s original utility but in its ability to evoke a deep connection to the past. The scheme, therefore, becomes a ruin, the new legacy of Wandsworth. James Ellwood Tutor(s)