Lewes Art Foundry

London Metropolitan University, Department of Architecture and Spatial Design, London

Project idea

Lewes Art Foundry rehouses a community of artists and makers who are being displaced from their homes of the last 30 years by redevelopment in the East Sussex county town.

Project description

For the past 30 years, The Phoenix site in Lewes has housed a community of artists and makers. Following the decision earlier this year to redevelop the area for housing, they faced losing both their workspaces and in some cases their homes. This proposal imagines a new permanent base on an adjacent riverside site that reflects their belief in a low environmental impact future in which extreme weather, including flooding, becomes a regular occurrence.

Technical information

There are four types of ‘displacement’ units: a basic home with the mezzanine sleep­ing area; larger units for a dancer and for a musician; and a unit incorporating a classroom and library where an artist can give art lessons.

As well as the affordable rental homes, the development has communal gardens and allotments and a covered market/performance space.
Ali Khan envisages the scheme as preserving both the industrial heritage of former metal warehouses and the heritage of the artists’ community, both of which have contributed significantly to Lewes.

Co-authors

Tutor: Nicolas Pople