The Intimacy of Necessity
Connemara, Galway, Ireland
Irish coastal communities are an integral part of the state’s heritage and have a special significance in Irish culture, their land, the sea and the architecture are deeply connected to their Irish culture and language through their necessity of survival as well as poetic understanding of their land. However, these coastal communities are shrinking. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Irish government published a 10-year national policy for regeneration off-shore islands in June 2023, additional grant support utilisation of existing properties for the provision of long-term residential accommodation. This dynamic throws up many challenges but also much-needed opportunity for a region traditionally suffering from a declining population and economy. Unit H will focus its studies on the relationship of mainland coastal communities and their connections to these islands. We will speculate on the impacts of climate, agricultural and industry sectors on the landscape, the consequences of which can be found not only in the physical environment but also in the daily lives of people. In rural locations, timeframes, economics, land pressures, social and spatial organisation are different, but it’s these factors that offer a frame of reference to consider new forms of settlement, one that finds a balance with an existing physical, social and ecological contexts.
Teaching partner: Keita Tajima
Student work to follow.
Connemara, Galway, Ireland
Irish coastal communities are an integral part of the state’s heritage and have a special significance in Irish culture, their land, the sea and the architecture are deeply connected to their Irish culture and language through their necessity of survival as well as poetic understanding of their land. However, these coastal communities are shrinking. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Irish government published a 10-year national policy for regeneration off-shore islands in June 2023, additional grant support utilisation of existing properties for the provision of long-term residential accommodation. This dynamic throws up many challenges but also much-needed opportunity for a region traditionally suffering from a declining population and economy. Unit H will focus its studies on the relationship of mainland coastal communities and their connections to these islands. We will speculate on the impacts of climate, agricultural and industry sectors on the landscape, the consequences of which can be found not only in the physical environment but also in the daily lives of people. In rural locations, timeframes, economics, land pressures, social and spatial organisation are different, but it’s these factors that offer a frame of reference to consider new forms of settlement, one that finds a balance with an existing physical, social and ecological contexts.
Teaching partner: Keita Tajima
Student work to follow.