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.cotton

Part 2 Project 2007
Matt Hayhurst
 University of Nottingham Nottingham | UK
Cotton is one of the most environmentally damaging crops grown in the world today.

Ramsbottom, Lancashire is the setting for a proposed organic cotton plantation and mill. Cotton is germinated and grown in an artificial responsive environment, heated using biomass technology and grown in rotation with crops used to make natural dyes and starches. Loomed fabrics weave through the site forming the skin of the building providing solar protection, which responds directly to diurnal and seasonal solar conditions forming a narrative of the emotive journey and experience of cotton from field to final product in a historically relevant context.

2007
The negative environmental and social impact of global production chains had lead to an increased awareness of sustainable production and the story behind the good we buy and consume.
The global production chain of cotton from field to final product includes many stages of harvesting, spinning, weaving, bleaching and dyeing using yet more energy and causing even more pollution.
Exploration of the organic and sustainable cotton production chain from field to final product, looking specifically at possible renewable energy sources which the Lancastrian climate has to offer.
Exploration of the relationship between site and cotton process, and final Site Plan.
Ground and First floor Plans inhabiting the existing cotton mills of Ramsbottom, Lancashire.
1. Experiential storyboard of mill visitors and public spaces 2. Section AA 3. Section BB
Looms are powered by water from the river Irwell. The following bleaching process uses natural sunlight.
Looming process. Weaved fabrics provide solar protection to mechanised process areas.
Dyeing Process. Natural dyes used during this process are made from crops grown in rotation with cotton.
Model of final proposal and solution.
Artificial cotton growing environment.
The internal cotton growing area.
Each cotton plot is covered by a flexible transparent material, Fibre Reinforced Plastic, which is supported by an adjustable crane structure. The crane responds directly to the differing height of the cotton plants, directly reducing the biomass load.
The internal temperature is maintained by a low grade undersoil biomass heating system which directly heats the damp soil and produces evaporation, providing a damp internal environment. Recycled water is irrigated to the plants directly to the roots.
Walking through the internal cotton growing fields visitors are able to witness all the stages of the growth of the cotton plant from incubation to maturation and harvest. They then see the cotton which they can help harvest converted directly to fabric.
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