The Miner’s centre was formally used as a pit head bath for Moston Colliery. It was used for miners to clean after working in the Moston Colliery. The coal mines were closed in 1950 and the building became used for a working man’s club until it was left derelict and neglected of years. In 2012 the building was repurposed and turned into a multifunctional community hub which entertains and educates hundreds of people within the community. They host a series of workshops and events to improve to social inclusion within the area. There is a café and bar which hosts music events and there is a cinema and gym in the back. The project started as a place for people with mental health issues but has since become a refuge for anyone within the community.

NAME: Hannah Goodrich

ATELIER: Flux

UNDERGRADUATE: University of Liverpool

EXPERIENCE: Blake Architects, Cirencester. Worked on mainly rural residential schemes.

SKILLS: Sketchup, Photoshop, Illustrator, Enscape, Vectorworks, InDesign, Auto CAD

ARCHITECTURAL INTERESTS: Adaptive Reuse, Residential

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Sailing, Drawing, the occasional run

FUN FACT: I was born in New Zealand

NAME: Matthew Stitch

ATELIER: Continuity in Architecture (CiA)

UNDERGRADUATE: University of Liverpool

EXPERIENCE: Studio MUTT, Liverpool. Worked on exhibition design, sustainable town centre regeneration and retrofit.

SKILLS: Sketchup, Photoshop, VRAY, Vectorworks, InDesign, Model Making

ARCHITECTURAL INTERESTS: Adaptive Reuse, Exhibition Design

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Cooking, Skiing, MMA (watching, not doing)

After a morning of initial concept sketching for the miners community centre, some key themes were established from group conversation. Sustainability, flexibility, multi -use, adaptable, affordable, playful and community driven.

DAY Three- Morning

The Third day began with a site visit to the Miners Community Arts & Music Centre to take some measurements, photos and conduct initial site responses. We discussed the existing condition of the site and surrounding context. Additionally the site visit allowed us to explore the economic feasibility of the initial concept sketches we designed the day before.

The visit to the community centre allowed the BA and MLA students to understand the larger context and current condition of the site. Students were set the task to complete a 5 minute sketch as a part of their response to the site, inspired by initial concepts they had developed the day before.

In the afternoon we returned to the studio to complete our concept models with a more informed knowledge of the site from our visit earlier in the day. The trip helped adjustments to the designs that would better suit the space.

Concept 1

Curved decking concept: This design concept maximises the space on the site, by providing two seating areas with a green screen partitioning and levelled seating. The space uses curves in its walkway, between decking, to create fluidity in movement with the surrounding site.

Concept 2

A small communal area that houses both tiered seating and benches with planters, they have a blocky design to match the more industrial feel or the site (built with brick and timber), protected overhead by a canopy for rainwater collection. We wanted to be able to hold a large number of people in a comfortable community space, hence the stair style seating areas with communal tables rather than just singular chairs

Concept 3

This design concept was to form a square of seating around a green space, adding a canopy to provide shelter during the winter. The upright pillars are complex shapes to give the crowd more space to enter and exit the seating freely. The idea for the seating came from the keys of a piano, which fits in with the function of the building and is a theme that we have used throughout the design.

Additionally, we started building the existing site model. The massing of the existing building has been constructed from MDF cuts which sit on an MDF plinth. Gradually, we have added more detail to the model to convey the existing condition.

Afternoon - final publication and completion of images for the client

Final outcomes of the project, visuals, floorpans, construction details, sketches and models. We hope to meet up with the clients after the project has finished to hand over the physical model and publication. This contact will help gain some feedback on the project and discuss how they can take the design forward to be built in the future.