EBBSFLEET, KENT
A HEALING FESTIVAL IN EBBSFLEET
THE BRIEF
The brief was to propose a festival which will attract more people to the area, which now is just an unknown and dormitory’ suburb to the city. It needed further development in order to become a place that people will want to visit.
THE SITE
The site is an abandoned chalk quarry lake in an area of disused industrial workings in Ebbsfleet Valley which a new town and redevelopment area next to Northfleet in Kent, South East England. Only an hour away from London, via train. Ebbsfleet’s landscape made up of quarries and
lakes making it a place with huge potential for further development.
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APPROACH AND PROPOSAL
Because of the abundance of ‘oasis’ providing healing and cathartic experiences for people in London, I chose to propose a healing festival in Ebbsfleet offering a de-stressing escape for up to 50 people. The festival was designed to be a place where mental health sufferers as well as any other people who feel that they need to take a break from a city lifestyle, will take a step back and get in touch with mother earth.
It will be a getaway for a week or weekend and its visitors will relax and take care of their mental and physical health. Its concept was based on the idea is that people will live and spend time in nature, practice yoga, meditate and learn more about how they can improve their mental health, discover a happier lifestyle, eat healthier and be fully present in their lives.
SCHEDULE OF ACCOMODATION
The festival was to designed to accommodate an Amphitheatre - Festival’s Gathering space, its location was based on the concept that once you enter the site from the main road, the path will guide you directly to it. It is the place where yoga will be practiced during dusk, midday and dawn but also a place that visitors can silently meditate and finally where they can all gather up, spend time together, share their stories while enjoying the lake view. Due the close proximity of the lake located within the site area a Bathhouse and Sauna was proposed, its directly connected with the amphitheatre, based on the idea that after yoga, visitors will clean their bodies, spend time in the sauna and relax.
A Kitchen area where visitors will be able to either cook in the sheltered kitchen or take the needed equipment, light a fire pit in the center of the amphitheatre and cook light and healthy meals outside. A Sheltered Gathering Space was designed to provide a covered gathering space where seminars about mental health well-being and healthy eating lifestyle will take place. And finally the Festival’s Housing units were proposed, a bit further away from festival’s main spaces and accessed by the natural and organic paths, visitors will ‘recover’ during the night in an peaceful and more secluded environment surrounded by trees. Giving visitors the chance to fully experience and appreciate nature.