Back in April 2013, I put an entry into this competition, I was trying to get my Masters project off the ground at the time so it gave me a great platform to try and develop the brief for the project, while offering the chance to broaden the research in the future.
My research proposal, “Room for Improvement – Global Flood Approaches and Implications for the Cambridge Sub-Region,” was awarded a Commendation in contest for the RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship 2013. The competition is a highly rewarding process, encouraging applicants to carefully consider their research on a global scale.
Now localising my design response, I will begin a case study of the long-standing proposal to construct the Cambridge Sport Lakes north of Cambridge, UK. The design thesis, due for completion at the end of September 2014, will present a re-interpretation of the current strategy. The aim being to align the project with aspirations for urban expansion and protection of local ecology, as stated in the Cambridge Draft Local Plan due for publication in late 2014.
Cambridge's threshold context puts it between chalk substrates and peat fens to the North. This will be explored by drawing on the rich and complicated past humans share with the ancient fenland, one of the most heavily engineered landscapes in the British Isles.