Edward Crooks

The project proposes a renewed engagement with landscape as a means to revive the village of Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire from its current state of cultural stagnation to one of accelerated production. 

Capitalising on Great Missenden’s status as the heart of UK hot-air ballooning, the institute traces balloon flights at ground, breaking from the conventional measures of territory and thus requiring new interactions, negotiations and interventions.

The institute’s engagement is one of radical primitivism, encouraging basic responses to problems along the route, gaining credence through the enthusiastic participation of locals. The specificity of this activity creates a wealth of built consequences and in turn unravels connections to broader global networks of production. 

Five case study buildings explore various themes to reimagine how, through increased local engagement, we might encourage positive development, from new builds in the green belt to altered heritage assets. A combination of fiction, performance, and reality gives a proposal that is not itself the transformation, but rather the catalyst for a new vernacular.