Re-Touch

This project stemmed from observing a quiet ritual in Wednesbury marketplace: people instinctively evaluating objects through touch. This act of haptic perception made me question how we assign value, and how, in a throwaway culture, tactile connection is often missing from how we consume and discard. Motivated by a passion for sustainable design, I focused on the environmental challenges posed by the textile industry. In the UK alone, over 200,000 tonnes of textile waste are discarded annually, much of it due to a preference for replacing over repairing. The resulting proposal is a circular textile hub that facilitates the full lifecycle of clothing: from collection and repair to transformation and reuse. Designed as a tactile, community-centred space, the architecture encourages hands-on engagement with materials, celebrating the act of giving objects, and spaces, renewed value.

As well as the environmental focus of the project, I also embedded inclusive design throughout the process. Readings such as Pallasmaa's 'The Eyes of the Skin' influenced my design by recognising touch as the universal sense, thus removing my design from the ocular-centric narrative of modern architecture.