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Shelter Factory

Part 1 Project 2015
Benjamin Michael Pole
De Montfort University | UK
Shelter Factory draws on the history and culture of Brick Lane, to create a system for the production and distribution of emergency relief shelters within the UK and abroad. At the same time it offers a way or re-appropriating existing structures as a means of development that conserves the character of a particular area.

The project is based in the old Shoreditch Underground Station, and utilizes the existing rail infrastructure as a means of distributing the shelters manufactured on site. A siding off the mainline is re-excavated with the new factory being constructed over the void created. Light wells through the factory allow light into the space whilst also providing a visual reference to the history of the site from the new building. The old station building is preserved as a visitor centre allowing the public to engage with the process while conserving local history.

Brick Lane has a strong history of providing shelter to those in need, and this project aims to continue that tradition at a time when emergency shelter has never been needed more, whether that is in response to people displaced by natural disasters and war, or the current migrant crisis in Europe.

Benjamin Michael Pole

Tutor(s)

2015
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