(2020)

The site sits on the embankment of Abbey creek, located in the Upper Lea Valley. It is in extreme proximity to the new build, being a very large residential site on the other side of the train tracks and there is already a tunnel under the tracks which allows movement of people to and from the area. The area is divided up into 18 plots of land to create a terrace of fermented architecture. The scheme shares different aspects with both neighbours. On onside the brewery shares a small courtyard as we both have non- alcoholic breweries, and on the other a section of the landscape provides a garden in which the beer brewery can grow its hops on. It is aimed at the neighbouring community. Providing a new social space for families, friends and colleagues to create something they can appreciate together, taking root beer-making back to its origins when consumers used to experiment with the root syrup.

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The main conceptual layer explored is the relationship the brewery will have with the river and environment. Carlo Scarpa’s Monument sparked an interesting concept with platforms that descended into the water which lead to the idea of cutting back into the embankment to create a structure which would become its own landscape. This then created a whole language of terraces which may be floating or extruded from the ground.

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The fermentation is connected to the surrounding ecosystems through a descending landscape, made up from a hexagonal grid. This encourages a relationship between the land and water through a modular system. The system allows the different aspects of the brewery to have the common geometric pattern of a hexagon whilst also offering different elements. Each module takes on an ecosystem, some which encourage regeneration of wildlife, others provide a place to comfortably socialise and some which take on contrasting climates for the stages of ethanol fermentation to take place.