Sophie Curran (she/her)
Sophie is a Diploma student at the Mackintosh School of Architecture having joined Glasgow School of Art in 2019. She started her architectural career at the University of Dundee where she graduated her Bachelor’s of Arts in Architecture with distinction. She undertook a semester at the University of Newcastle, Australia during her second year of education where her interest for sustainable contextual design was heightened. Through her Part I she worked on a masterplan development in Newcastle Upon Tyne with Ryder Architecture.
‘Islands of the City’ focuses on creating a masterplan through a cross section of the city structure through a series of interventions that aid progressions in climate stability whilst increasing the well-being of the surrounding people.
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Islands in the City
– a ribbon of celebration –
Fragmented pockets of vacant land litter the city. These weaken the city structure, creating undesirable and unsafe spaces associated with antisocial behaviour. “Sites in our city which lie empty and unused can depress people and neighbourhoods” – Councillor Gordon Matheson, GCC. There is a direct relationship between the climate crisis and our community. With development of the contemporary city, we have adopted a disposable nature and an isolated attitude towards everyday life. The issue is global, affecting every continent with examples of natural devastation being seen more regularly than ever before. We are now faced with a crucial moment in time; if rapid change doesn’t begin taking place we are accepting the prospect of irreversible damage.
This thesis will create ‘event’ and ‘movement’ by utilising vacant, disconnected land (I) in the city centre. The proposal will bring to light the disposable nature and isolated attitudes (II) of Glasgow’s people, promoting awareness of the climate crisis (III) and subsequent change. With continuous development and expansion of the city in combination with climate change, Glasgow is facing a serious issue regarding water levels. Currently, the whole city is classified as ‘potentially vulnerable’ (SEPA) . This manifesto rethinks the ways in which we interact with blue infrastructure and looks to celebrate water processing techniques, providing public benefit and educating the city. A series of events will run through the east end of the city (case study) linked by the newly de-culverted Molendiner Burn culminating in Glasgow Green where the surface-water collected will be celebrated in the form of a bath house.
