Ironline

Collective Architecture’s Interdisciplinary design team were shortlisted alongside 4 other teams, for the Ironline competition run by Colander for Copeland Borough Council and th­e Millom Town Deal Board.

The competition was launched in September 2021, to find the right design team with whom a sympathetic yet stimulating intervention could be created within an area of extraordinary natural beauty, close to the Cumbrian Lake District. The judges were looking for an approach which senstively develops the beautiful coastal Iron Line at Millom into a recreational attraction that unites ecology, heritage and culture.

Collective Architecture’s team approach was inspired by the words of local poet Norman Nicholson, celebrating the beautiful natural context of Millom, Cumbria. As an expert botanist, Nicholson asserted that nature might repair itself better than mankind could. Believing in the preservation of the post-industrial remnants of Millom, the salvation of mines, factories and pitheads, allows for future generations to appreciate the achievements and struggles of the former industrial age.

With this, the proposal becomes one of preservation and appreciation over intervention itself. Through memorialising the industrial past, the future focus can be one of ecology and environmentalism. The natural world and industrial legacies become the focal point of Cumbrian tourism. The ambition will be through connecting Millom to the wider area; bringing heritage, ecology and commerce together.

We were delighted to progress the competition to the 2nd stage.

Our interdisciplinary team included; Raeburn Fafquahar Bowen; Civic Engineers; Rybka; Gardiner & Theobald. Supporting specialists: Arch  Henderson; Urban Movement; Graphical House; Ecus Ltd; CB Arts.

FULL PRESENTATION HERE