A Re-use Performance [RCA_MA ARCHITECTURE_2019_ADS11]
The project proposes a subtle and low budget renovation of the existing Granada Theatre in Walthamstow, to facilitate a community of local people around the exchange of cultural materials and in turn celebrating Walthamstow as a cultural district. The site is surrounded by local activity and the fast paced environment of the changing East London High Street. So, in embracing this cycle of change, the design seeks to reference this through facilitating the exchange and showcase of cultural waste materials, predominantly from the production industry. Through the exchange, repair and showcasing of these artefacts, the theatre becomes a place for local people to share resources in a low economic pressured environment, and becomes an attraction for local businesses as a market for these materials, as well as to the public as an ever-changing museum.
These cultural waste materials as examples of the finishing layer of the building- the inner most layer of architecture. This layer is subject to an ongoing cycle of change, influenced by trends, change of use, change of tennancy. It is the layer of the building which we, as architects, have the least control over and yet it can be the most influential. Once of the key aspects of the renovation strategy draws on parallels between this finishing layer in architecture and the changing nature of the set as the finishing layer of a theatrical performance. Therefore, the proposal embraces this layer, encouraging the building to be constantly changed and updated with the exchange of cultural waste materials.
