Jenna Penman

Project Description:

This project explores the adaptive re-use of a structural frame within the context of Summerhall, Edinburgh, a site layered with history, public use, and architectural opportunity. Rooted in the Unit 1 ethos, the project integrates city and architecture, seeking to reshape both interior and exterior space for collective gathering.

Through a tectonic lens, the design process engages with an existing structure. Additive and subtractive acts generate a renewed spatial order, driven by a careful choreography of movement, viewpoint, and encounter. Thresholds, entrances, and interior rooms are studied as architectural moments that mediate between structure and experience.

The introduction of a materials and re-use hub creates an active center for the education on materials and circular practices. It aims to encourage sustainable practices within the wider community. It not only supports the ongoing transformation of the site, but also fosters education, participation, and local resilience through the sharing and redistribution of materials and knowledge.