IDK

A community focused masterplan for the regeneration of the Old Ironworks Site and Nature Reserve in Millom, Cumbria to create a hub for spiritual wellness.

Once a site for heavy industry, IDK's planning approved proposal for a spiritual retreat and ecological sanctuary breathes new life into Millom’s Old Ironworks site. An enormously complex project spanning four acres and multiple structures, the scheme addresses the client's spiritual and practical ambitions in ways that are ecologically sound, historically sensitive and commercially pragmatic.

As a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI), the land benefits from the same ecological richness as the adjacent nature reserve while bearing the human traces of past industrial processes which have become part of its landscape. The Ironworks, which opened in the mid-19th century and closed at the end of the 60s, was once one of the world’s largest ironworks and famed for its innovation. Bordered by a slag heap that has been reclaimed by native plants and grasses, the area's history of heavy industry is still visible. A ‘plug', the solid metallic boulder composed of the waste that remained at the base of blast furnace No.1, stands as a powerful synecdoche for the human activities that have shaped this extraordinary landscape and its ecologies.

Our design responds with balance and humility to this abundance of interconnected histories and influences, taking a minimal intervention approach. Living roofs accommodate vegetation displaced by the proposed structures and mitigate the force of the coastal climate, reducing erosion and preserving the balance of nutrients in the soil. Open swales channel rainwater to where it is needed, while ponds and scrapes collect the excess, forming the ideal environment for the protected Natterjack toads, rare plants and birds that are found on the site.

The masterplan is composed of a series of multi-functional buildings: Millway, a civic community space and the public gateway to the site; the Millom Octagon, a space for reflection and spiritual growth; a supporting Ancillary building, which provides functional kitchen and washing facilities; and a series of sculptural pieces designed to resonate with the five principal organs of Chinese medicine. The placement and form of all of these structures is determined by the philosophical beliefs of the client and governed by conceptions of how Qi, or energy, flows through the site.