The Glassworks is located on the site of the former Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks, contributing to the industrial landscape of an alternate community wary of technological innovation, who choose to return to a manual, tactile and analogue way of life.
The works consist of 3 main components. The gallery exists as a timber warren truss cage, hovering above the surface of Bow Creek creating a beacon of transparency. The linear workshops line the edge of the existing railway and create a terrace of sectional spaces crafted for specific functions. In the landscape between these two buildings a series of glass pavilions grow to showcase and house the growing community of craftspeople.
Aspects of the different building fabrics are composed of recycled glass. Inspired by the notion of perpetual construction, the seasonal recycling of glazed aspects of the construction becomes a central narrative, morphing the building’s form, aesthetic, and environmental qualities. This cyclical process bonds users through collective construction and responds sensitively to environmental change, reinforcing the project’s commitment to sustainable adaptability.
The Glassworks serves as a bastion of tactile exploration and craft education. Visitors are immersed in practical techniques that facilitate the transmission of tacit knowledge, fostering a reconnection with manual skills in defiance of the dehumanising effects of mass production.
Scheme
Gallery
Workshop and Glass Recycling Works
Visualisations
Models
Tutors Hannah Corlett and Niall McLaughlin