Ironbridge Power Station has been an operating site since the 1930’s. The iconic cooling towers, built in 1970, defined the skyline of the Ironbridge Gorge and contributed to the significant industrial heritage of the surrounding area.

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Leonard Design Architects (LDA) have produced a masterplan building a new community for Ironbridge, creating 1000 homes and providing a market square, a school, sports facilities and employment. This masterplan however comes at the cost of the cooling towers which were demolished in Decemeber 2019 ahead of the development commencing on site. 

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This project explores the possibilities of retaining the towers to serve as both a museum and a residential development to be included within the wider masterplan, with the intention of extending the adjacent World Heritage Site whilst also maintaining both the proposed number of housing and the industrial heritage of the area. Results from my autumn semester research project suggest that residents of mining towns value their heritage through understanding, sharing knowledge and celebrating physical forms, which is what this project aims to accomplish with the Ironbridge Cooling Towers. 

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A unique combination of modular pre-fabricated CLT units and a steel space frame structure create an exciting residential scheme which honours the industrial heritage of the site whilst also exploring efficient methods of construction and vertical living.