Ebbw Vale Basement Garden Competition, The Blaenau Gwent Eisteddfod 2010:
The site of the former Ebbw Vale Steelworks in Blaenau Gwent will host the 2010 Eisteddfod. In order to help to preserve the site's heritage a number of legacies of the industrial past have been retained. In particular a number of former steelworks basements on the site will be restored to provide distinct features in the new development. In preparation for 2010, architects, landscape gardeners and artists were invited to come forward with innovative designs for a basement garden in one of the retained structures. Our concept explored the principle that the historical virtues of the colossal former steelworks are evoked through the imprint that this remaining basement places on the landscape. We believe that walking through the basement garden should be like flicking through a dramatic picture book recapturing the bygone sense of place, time, people and emotion that seeps through the very foundations still visible today. Our proposal was to manipulate the existing elements of the basement so that an impact on the emotions is achieved bringing the basement alive through the drama of juxtaposition. With this theory in mind we articulated an environment resulting from the breaking-up of flow into action and rest, static and dynamic and ultimately walkway and garden. Our design was submitted to the competition in May 2009 and was shortlisted into the final stage of judging amongst entries from all over the UK.
