The Green House
Sundial
2086 Narrative
Today, the UK faces a dual crisis: we are both one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, ranking in the bottom 10% globally, and one of the most unequal economies in the developed world. These conditions are often treated as separate issues, yet both stem from the same extractive systems that prioritise short-term profit over long-term wellbeing. My project instead imagines a speculative future where social and environmental wellbeing form the basis of daily life. 'The Green House' repositions the responsibility of architecture to create the spatial, material and social frameworks through which communities and nature can coexist. Where the 20th century was an era of modernism, the 21st century must become an era of humanism - one where care becomes a fundamental function.
Spatial Concept
Socially, good architecture can cultivate belonging, identity and shelter. Environmentally, it can act as biodiversity infrastructure, increasing care and exposure to the natural world. The concept of 'our place' integrates these into one architectural ethos. In a future where urban densification seems inevitable, rather than cramming people into efficiency-driven, soulless glass towers, what if the functions of the contemporary home where dispersed across the public realm? The living room becomes a space of communal activity and exchange; kitchen and dining become civic spaces; the private dwelling a place of hibernation. Users move through the site following the sun's daily path, inspired by the sundial and designed to encourage a more natural way of living attuned to seasonal rhythms.
