Y1 P1 - Do you remember the first time?
Stage 1 exploration photos
Guided by lyrics from Pulp’s 'Deep Fried in Kelvin', this project explored themes of site, context, and memory. The song led us to Kelvin Flats, a 1960s housing estate built around the radical idea of 'streets in the sky', elevated walkways meant to foster community. Once seen as utopian, Kelvin fell into disrepair over time, becoming associated with crime and isolation before its demolition in the 1990s. Our group traced its legacy through a walk across Sheffield, visiting remaining sites like Philadelphia Gardens and Park Hill Flats, reflecting on how architecture can shape (and be shaped by) social change.
Through sketching, photography, and site observation, we learned to let the city guide our journery, responding to atmosphere, history, and chance encounters. A key moment was discovering a graffiti poem near the former Kelvin Flats site: “We were never derelict; just displaced and out of sight...” This challenged our initial perception of Kelvin as a failed architectural vision, revealing the deep sense of community that once existed there. It taught me that a site’s character isn’t defined solely by its structures, but by the stories and people that shape its past.
Stage 2 collage in response to exploration
Stage 3 sculpture expressing themes of memory, community and urban change
Back in studio, we translated our walk into a collaborative sculpture, using form, texture, and imagery to express our personal and collective experience of Sheffield. The maze-like layout mirrored the unpredictable nature of our journey, while references to Kelvin Flats (washing lines, graffiti, and angular forms) highlighted themes of memory, community, and urban change. Through this project, we developed a deeper understanding of Sheffield’s spatial and experiential aspects, allowing us to appreciate the importance of context and environment when making design interventions in future projects.