Light Theme

Provision I invite you to stand in my shoes In the space between dark and light To imagine a room laid bare Where you sleep in the bath In the clothes you wear every day Because you don’t have a bed or Even a mattress on the floor To rest your tired frame. You are in crisis Slipped through the cracks It doesn’t matter how or why Just that you are here Needing help Needing compassion Practical support To get back on your feet To feel cared for Provided for Prayers answered. I sit here listening to Blur On the CD player I have just bought from Provision House A beacon-topped Aladdin’s cave of treasures That occupies a space right opposite It’s higher calling Old Co-op Old shoe shop New lease of life For this art-deco giant Three floors of stepping back in time Down history rich stairs Through formica inlaid doors Its belly stuffed with Furniture and bedding Tables and lamps Wardrobes and kitchenware The things that we take for granted Destined for those that have nothing Absolutely nothing A lifeline. In the shop I can still buy a pair of shoes Anything an old department store may well have stocked Ironic I feel. They save the sleeping bags To hand to homeless folk Health-packs and new socks Whatever helps. The Food Club caters for those That need to feed themselves Their families On budgets stretched to breaking They mind the gap that governments should fill By remembering that everybody counts Black Country rules. Kim chats to a woman Buying sticker-books for her granddaughter Laughter slips through this conversation Two books for a pound and you know The girl will have a fun filled afternoon. I ask about the future Plans for expansion Rooms to hire Office space Training programmes on their way Perhaps a life for the room upstairs and I see progress New from old Right from wrong. So, step through this door and lend a hand To those that need it more than You and I will ever understand.

The population of Dudley in 2021 is circ. 80,000 and including the wider borough totals 313,000. For one person on the average diet, roughly 2.6 Hectares of farm land is required. A family of four, just over 10 Hectares. A population of 313,000 required 813,800 Hectares, the equivalent of 1,162 football fields or 707,652,174 car parking bays. FEEDING DUDLEY REQUIRES 1,162 FOOTBALL FIELDS OF FARM LAND Thesis Concept Image - The Farm House Taking a fun and more literal approach for providing local food production onto the high street, I looked at layering a farm growing different fruits, vegetables and meat products into the same structure to view the absurdity of growing, processing and packaging within a single structure. Ultimately the project would be as close to being a closed system as possible, where food grown could be fed to the animals and the waste from the animals will be used as fertiliser from the food. Air flow and lighting would not only be critical for the animals, but it also allows the fruit and vegetables to grow faster and more efficiently. The processes within the Farm House would be very energy intense due to the amount of heating, water and lighting that will be required to house the animals and grow the crops. The project utilises conventional farming methods, ploughing, seeding etc., but without the harmful pesticides that would be usually applied. The farming problem of space efficiency is partially targeted in this proposal. Per m2 in plan does contain a greater yield due to the floor layering, however per m2 of gross internal floor area the yield efficiency remains. To ultimately increase overall yield per m2 aeroponics should be applied to massively increase yield and decrease water consumption. THESIS PROPOSAL The redevelopment of the high street is a re-envisaged perception of what the high street is and what it will become. A future look at what the high street will become, with mixed use residential and food growth structure to create dense living accommodation and localised food growth which prevents the need to contribute to deforestation and loss of biodiversity from urbanisation. As part of the schemes wider aims, the high street and surrounding roads will become part of a network of green corridors, where pedestrian footfall/cycling can increase and the use of polluting vehicles will be greatly reduced. The idea of greatly increasing the density of vegetation along roads and reducing lanes will not only improve the rate of absorbing carbon dioxide, but also reduce noise and reduce temperature spots. The Miyawaki planted method would be used where ever possible to create dense areas of trees and shrubs, as well as quickly create new living conditions for new biodiversity. The primary focus for the building will be the localised food growth in the vertical farms, several floors of food growth will create a new economy centred around the high street, removing the need to import fresh food from farms from across the country or on the other side of the world. The environment within the farms will be climate controlled, allowing the farms to adjust their climate to the optimum for the specific food. The density at which food can be grown in is almost 400 times greater than conventional farming, which greatly reduces the need to create new farms. The residential aspects pairs with the farm, in bringing a new generation of people to live above the high street. The new vision of the high street would become an attraction point for people to not only visit but to live in as well. Access to land converted from roads and paving to nature will create value and attraction to the area once again. Eventually the low income stores will transition to stores that cater to the new environment. This project targets all the XR themes directly or indirectly. Air & Biodiversity - Creating new and preventing the loss of woodland and habitats. Food - Growing food local and a much greater yield. Water - Greatly reducing the resource requirement during farming. Materiality - Managing sustainable usage of the deconstructed buildings and sourcing of the proposed. Community - Creating new environments for communities to interact with each other.