Ilfracombe, UK, 2018

For many coastal towns, such as Ilfracombe, industry and craft remains central to its identity and economy, yet many of these vital industries have been displaced in lieu of novelist attractions provided for the seasonal visitor.

Sited within a neglected car park on the sea-struck Northern shore of Ilfracombe, the proposal offers a new civic piece of architecture situated with the heart of Ilfracombe, that through the use of detail, materiality and structural expression celebrates the ‘hand of the craftsman’ and introduces the presence of Ilfracombe’s vital  industries back into the fabric of the town. 

Resisting the creation of a Ruskinian romantic novelist attraction, the proposal intends to enhance and expand the public realm and life of Ilfracombe whilst forming a critical addition to the continuum of local Devonshire building culture.