Joshua Jennings BA (Hons) Interior Design
I strive to create solutions that are elegant and simple, but tie together good-logic and an eye for detail with in-depth research. This in-turn informs my designs.
Both the Ancoats Wellness Core and the Hanging Ditch Ceramics Core aim to find a solution to the inner-city stresses of urban living in Manchester. In an international study, researchers have found a proven correlation between the negative neural habits of city-dwellers comparable to their counterparts who live in rural areas. (Nature.com, 2011) This data, coupled with rising suicide rates among young professionals has prompted the need for a holistic approach to mental and physical health alike. (ONS, 2019)
The Hanging Ditch Ceramics Core is a studio that provides tactile therapy through the process of throwing and firing clay pieces. The centre provides a retail space and coffee bar, alongside a ceramic studio which houses a bespoke open-topped kiln reaching upwards from the firing studio to the ground-floor level. The space is fitted with custom modular shelving for storage in the studios and display plinths in the retail space, the design language of these are consistent throughout.
The Ancoats Wellness Core furthers this concept into a larger flagship centre which provides a wider variety of therapies catering to different wellness needs, each with their own studio spaces. These studios are situated around a central winter garden. Birch and maple sprout up from the gong-bath therapy studios below into the main atrium, whilst a first-floor walkway allows the user to walk through the boughs of the trees to access the yoga and meditation studios.
