Rachel Carabine-Clarke

My Conquest House Project was inspired by the impacts of lockdown and tackling issues specifically food poverty within the local area of Canterbury. I was inspired by the local architecture and history of Canterbury so chose a building deeply rooted in the history of the city to host my final proposal. My final proposal was based around the narrative of a Conquest House Society, a place where people experiencing poverty and the aftereffects of lockdown such as loneliness, could come to a safe space for support and equality without prejudice or societal status. All members wear the iconic orange robes to take away the elements of materialism that divide a society and to stop any feelings of discrimination from what someone wears, their sex or how they look. Visiting members of the public wear grey robes to respect the rules and traditions of the society.

Conquest House would be a place where locals experiencing poverty could come to seek help and support but also a place where they could get educated by learning to mill flour and using it to bake bread. The society creates jobs by selling the freshly baked bread to the public at the in-house fresh food market with any funds going back into the society to tackle local food poverty. As a designer who is interested in narrative, I enjoyed creating this society, which although theatrical has a very real and important meaning behind.

As a designer who is interested in materiality and texture, working with a Grade II listed property was a fascinating experience. The existing timbers and stone in contrast with my own design, which introduced temporary materials such as terrazzo and weathered steel, created an interesting combination, marrying the old and the new. The contrast of the old and the new can be seen mainly in the side sections with the new design introducing a 10m extension.

A lot of the design focused on bespoke furniture inspired by spatial verb models that were made using clay, echoing the kneading dough process. The models were then developed and refined into pieces of bespoke furniture that would complement the baking bread process and can be found in the basement of the property in the kitchen area. The bespoke furniture included a flour milling machine, a baking bread table for mixing ingredients and kneading dough, a punching bread table to punch out the air in the dough and an oven peel to place dough into the oven safely and efficiently.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on Conquest House as my final BA project. It allowed me to explore my interests and develop on skills throughout the project. Now my degree is completed, I am keen to work within the industry to gain the experience and continue to develop on my skills. I plan to do my masters within the next five years after deciding what I would like to further specialise in.

Website: www.rachelcarabineclarke.com

Instagram: @rachel_cclarke_designs