This project focuses on the afterlife of the deprived mining community of Buckhaven, Fife with an emphasis on ground regeneration and reuse.
Located in Buckhaven this coastal site was left derelict and abandoned after the closure of Wellesley colliery which was once a source of wealth for the community. In effort to bring social regeneration to the area the new proposal contains a public building with multifunctional spaces and educational facilities.
Through repurposing spoiled ground and waste materials from the coalmining industry a thoroughly sustainable material system has been established within this environmental community centre. The ability to reuse the site’s gravel filled ground as aggregate and fly-ash (a mining waste product) as cement to create a sustainable concrete is extremely specific to the site’s historical past.
The project seeks to connect the local community back to their historical roots as well as the water’s edge after a long history of urbanisation. With a responsibility to create sustainable built environments the ecology of the site is regenerated through creation of a sand dune ecosystem which the building harmoniously settles in, considering topographic changes to combat future flooding and coastal erosion preserving the coastal town of Buckhaven. The community and proposed building are linked by timber elevated walkways leaving the ground untouched and treated as sacred.