Trafalgar Mill and Waterloo Mill Section

James Hole, Ffion Douglas, Conner Foster, Holly Knight-Parfitt

Industrial Nouveau : Burnley

Industrial Nouveau : Burnley aims to reignite Burnley’s post-industrial spaces through a circular textile industry model. The town has a series of disused urban spaces from car parks to post-industrial territories along the Leeds Liverpool Canal. As part of the wider urban scheme, we proposed to regenerate these spaces to improve urban connections and increase access to public green space in the town centre.

Trafalgar Mill and Waterloo Mill Section
Trafalgar Mill and Waterloo Mill Section

Our thesis provides focus to phase 1 of this wider scheme, overseeing a complex of four 19th CE and Early 20th CE former textile mills. The thesis sees a revival of Burnley’s lost industrial identity through a reinvention of the textile mill; providing a circular prototype system that demonstrates how a combined resale, reuse and recycling process can alleviate the impacts of textile waste derived from ‘fast-fashion’. This theorised complex can process nearly 9000 tonnes of waste textiles per year, distributed via the canal. The prevention of these textiles being burnt at landfill offsets over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Isometric
Isometric

The three key textile mills being used for the industrial process are: Thorneybank Mill, which oversees the reuse and resale of 80% of the incoming waste textiles, Waterloo Mill which recycles 15% of incoming textiles, as well as producing new fibres and textiles, and lastly Grade II listed Trafalgar Mill, which coincides with the neighbouring UCLAN campus, providing research to find new uses for the remaining 5% of waste textiles that would typically be burnt at landfill. This industry model provides over 200 much-needed jobs for Burnley and over 300 new opportunities for higher education within Trafalgar Mill’s research building.

Canal View
Canal View

The project also aims to demonstrate the capabilities of historic buildings alongside England’s historic waterways, retaining their embodied carbon and retrofitting them for new uses. The proposal is a mix of retrofitted spaces and new interventions. These interventions have been carefully considered to respect the historic context while being distinctive through a ‘abstract reference’ methodology.

Atrium View
Atrium View

Given the regeneration of urban spaces into public green space, the project follows a plant-based textile approach, highlighting the potential of natural and locally grown products in a textile system, connecting the internal functions to the adjacent park space; harvesting flax for linen, crops for dyes, and fruit that can be transformed into plant-based leather. This plant-based approach is exhibited in the Trafalgar Mill’s retrofitted atrium space.

Site Model
Site Model
Elevation
Elevation
Section Model
Section Model

Thesis Tutors

Jack Dunne

Thesis VP

Thinking Practice

Thesis Critcs

Ian Ritchie
Michael Cuniff
Ronny Ford
Julianna Kei
Fei Chen

Special Mentions

We are extremely grateful for the support and guidance of our outstanding tutor Jack Dunne. A huge thank you from all of us. We would also like to thank the technician team for going above and beyond to help throughout the years.