Collective Harvesting of Memory Part 1 Project 2023 Adelina Ivan University of Westminster | UK Situated on the Thames Estuary, Southend-on-Sea has only recently been granted city status, in March 2022. With this, however, it seems that the town is drifting away from the raw, coastal character of the area. This project proposes to reclaim the town's car park spaces, beginning with Clarence Road Car Park, in the interest of the community and as places for learning, growing and making.The project themes integrate new areas of urban farming, communal cooking and dining, together with library and workshop spaces, therefore behaving as a new ‘piazza’ for the city. Implicitly, the new proposal is an attempt to heal the ‘wounds’ of the city through integrating nature, engaging the community and preserving tradition and craft.Apart from planting, growing and cooking crops on site, a defining element in terms of circularity for this project is that of the thatched roof. The thatch can be cultivated within the newly designated agricultural zones, subsequently harvested and then used not only for roofing, but also as insulation for the building’s thermal envelope.The character of the new structure lies in the process of making, building, replacing and passing on the craft, knowledge and skills from one generation to the next. Tutor(s) Tom Budd Paolo Zaide