The International Symposium of Virtual Allegories Part 1 Project 2015 Jac Doody Birmingham City University | UK The culmination of a year long investigation into the disenfranchised district of Lea Hall outside of Birmingham and it’s tensions with the bypassing HS2 line, the scheme consists of a socio-economic district scale intervention into the region promoting the bitcoin as a new regional [and possibly global] currency. This is delivered through a network of mining towers linked to a central headquarters.A monolithic ‘temple’ aimed at becoming a landmark for the area grounds the scheme while promoting the digital process; the other designation is an internet addiction retreat for employees of the mining company and it’s addictive digital process. There are two architectural languages present; the temple forms a cold, monolithic mass compared to the retreat that is a much soft intervention materially.Timber framing and shingle cladding are used in the retreat, aimed at using residential holistic therapies to rejuvenate residents; the architecture of the housing units change as one moves from digital to physical integration, from faceted to organic form. The pool that the scheme sits above is a balancing lake for the surrounding landscape, helping to drain the nearby country park in times of flood and creating an essential link with the surrounding park-scape. Tutor(s)