The Bartlett
Summer Show 2023
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Ceramic Reparations

Project details

Programme
Studio Studio 3A
Year 3
Award
  • Public Engagement Prize

London's industrial history has left a troubling legacy of contaminated land and water, particularly in the rapidly redeveloping Lea Valley and its post-industrial brownfield sites. This design research project addresses the challenge by exploring clay-based strategies for regenerating the Lea Valley Filter Beds in the face of increasing pollution and climate change. Through site-specific ceramic prototypes, model-making, and drawing, the research builds upon the work of the Save Lea Marshes group, which aims to redevelop the Lea Valley Filter Beds site. The project investigates the use of ceramic glazes and clay derived from nearby polluted materials, transforming the problematic context into a source of positive value. By developing a language of earthen and ceramic construction, the design celebrates the soil elements of this polluted site as valuable resources.

Ceramic Reparations: Fluctuating Toxicity

This drawing examines the design of a glazed façade that can adapt to the varying levels of toxicity in the site's ground. Its purpose is to prevent the re-release of contaminants stored in the ceramic glaze.

(P)reparative Landscape

(P)reparative Landscape

This masterplan showcases the conversion of contaminated land into a unique post-industrial landscape, creating a new green space for the Lea Valley.

Ceramic Reparations: Traces of Contamination

These tests explore the effects of adding site-specific contaminating metals to the base glaze, replicating the site conditions. They assign value to the site's toxicity and develop a responsive ceramic language.

Ceramic Reparations: Development Models

These models explore the site's development, retrofitting strategy for existing buildings and the emergence of a new ceramic architecture.

Clay Body Tests

These tests explore using ceramics made from contaminated materials as a holistic remediation strategy. They investigate variations in grog content and extrusion methods to create interlocking structures.

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The Bartlett
Summer Show 2023
23 June – 8 July 2023
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