Traditional retail has left a challenging legacy for UK towns and cities trying to regenerate after the impact of a pandemic. Large expanses of artificially lit and mechanically ventilated interiors designed to actively exclude nature. The worst conditions to nurture small scale enterprises and the first places to close if there is another pandemic.
A typical late 20th century building in Kingston’s former retail centre has been transformed into a productive space for the community. An internal courtyard has been formed at the rear of the site and a new entry sequence transforms the interiors relationship to the street. A ceramics studio, powered by the processing of locally sourced food waste, has been inserted into the courtyard. A two-storey framework cuts through the space, separating and connecting activities. Platforms appear to float in space, contrasting with the mass and weight of the concrete host building and referring to Kingston’s historic connection with aviation. This structure accommodates the major functions of the ceramics studio as well as displaying products. The site was once occupied by a theatre and that heritage is echoed through a large amphitheatre staircase, the lowest steps being enlarged to form a stage for craft demonstrations. A coffee shops slides below the new staircase to activate the front of the site. This is a proposal that resourcefully reinvents a building scheduled to be demolished, and in the process returns Kingston to a place of production and public spectacle.
