This project is an investigation into how new landscapes can be generated through traces of their historical past. This methodology uses ‘patterns’ from a site’s past and present, including shifting boundaries, flood plains, altered routes and modes of occupation. By overlaying this information, a generative design methodology is proposed to physically expose information to the user through bold, spatial and opportunistic ways. Aesthetically, different landscape typologies are inserted into these new zones as a patchwork of approaches.

This methodology is applied to Bow Works on the River Lea, to reveal its historical transformations. The project uses historical traces as a reference point to create spaces for different functions. Focussing on two sites intersected by a railway, the project proposes a near-future where heavy industry is relocated away from the riverfront, giving this space back to the public. The former concrete factory is re-imagined as an educational relic on the site. It is also a catalyst for exploring the materiality of concrete, which can be applied in a variety of ways to create soft, shapely, textured and coloured forms. Through a playground and a forest school, these sites offer an energetic re-imagining of a post-industrial landscape where educational public spaces occupy the river, allowing people to discover the Lea's past.