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Cofio Celyn: Remember Celyn

Part 1 Project 2023
Gus Eynon Richards
University of Greenwich | UK
In 1965 the proud Welsh village of Capel Celyn, now ruined and vacated by its community, was veiled in water to build a reservoir for Liverpool. The Drowning of Tryweryn is a key point in Welsh history and sparked considerable yet ignored protests. Now, ‘Cofio Celyn’ is rarely seen and the village begins to be forgotten again; this project seeks to reverse that and provide a new architecture to remember Celyn.

The architecture aims to restore the community and close bond of Welshness that were lost in 1965. By using materials sourced from the site itself in a sustainable way, all are invited to rebuild a new village above the water line. Here, the new community works with the landscape which both offers resources and causes decay; the architecture is constantly being renewed as its environment warps and changes it. Different spatial experiences arise through different conditions of decay, repaired in a designed patchwork by all. Through this process, the community learns traditional skills, promoting a lost Welsh vernacular, and grows together as a community. As the new Capel Celyn is rebuilt and renewed so is a new community, all looking towards the memory of the village below the water.

Gus Eynon Richards

Tutor(s)
Jen Wan
Eric Wong
2023
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