community centre 01
4th year Master’s Project, University of dundee
Wuhan, China – 2024
Revit
autocad
Sketchup
illustrator
photoshop
Community Centre 01 explores the concept of “private claims on public space” in the urban villages of Hankou, Wuhan, where residents creatively adapt narrow alleyways into gardens, storage, or outdoor living areas. This fourth-year project marked a shift into a completely new context, designing within a super-dense Chinese city, requiring careful cultural and spatial sensitivity. In response, the proposal introduces a network of compact (300m²), adaptable community centres integrated into tight urban fabrics. These centres offer flexible indoor/outdoor rooms that residents can use as they wish, reflecting existing informal practices. The design promotes community-led construction through local workshops that share traditional methods and material knowledge. By using locally sourced materials such as rammed earth, recycled bricks, and tiles, the project maintains cultural identity while encouraging sustainable practices. Scattered throughout Hankou, the centres aim to strengthen social cohesion, offering accessible, shared spaces that respond to the urban village condition and empower residents to shape their environment.
This project has been nominated for the 6th Shenzhen Design award for young talents by city of design dundee. as part of a collaboration with two colleagues, maya barnes and garbhan donnelly.
The courtyard presents an opportunity to expand upon ‘private claims on public space’. Introducing an open area which acts as a commmon space, which the residents can fully utilise however they wish, giving endless possibilites for personalisation. The flexibility of the bi-folds allows to bring in more people and opportunities to host larger social gatherings, while when the doors are closed, the courtyard then becomes a quieter, more intimate space. In the end its the community which decides on what this space becomes, giving them a sense of ownership.
The key concept is to push forward the idea of the community centre being truly owned by the residents. The indoor spaces can be renovated, re-decorated and re-purposed. A room can go from a space for recreation or excercise, to a library/study area. Another time it can be a space for kids to hang out after school. The list is endless, and with multiple areas for storage found next to every stairwell, ther is opportunity to clear/fill the space at any given moment, when it is required.
Smaller, domestic sized spaces create a good opportunity to encourage social behaviour. These are rooms that can offer activities that perhaps are unable to occur in the average home where space is more limited, including a large dinner party or a space to celebrate. To atone for the smaller surface area, the ceiling height is elevated just enough to make the rooms feel more spacious. Adjacent terraces also provide an extension to this space, allowing for air to enter when it starts to feel overcrowded. People can turn the terrace into a garden with, with integrated seating areas to encourage social activity.
Studio: Reprieve
Tutor: Gary Cunningham
Franciszek Maj 