Blurred Boundaries : Tracing Urban Layers

Palimpsest

noun

1. a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing.

11. something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form.

Out Urban environments are not static objects, they exist in a state of flux, despite the permanence represented by their facades. Narratives are perpetually under inscription and re-inscription, making the urban environment one of fragments and traces, a palimpsest relationship between its parts.

Huddersfield is renowned for its Victorian relationship to the local textiles industry. Much of the towns form is intrinsically linked to this wealth ; its monumental architecture as a statement to define itself amongst its neighbors. Buildings such as the train-station have received national recognition and vistas of golden ashlar stone are a common site.

Such a defined character has been duly noted, especially against the context violent 20th century interventions, particularly that of the ring-road, cutting off the town centre from easy pedestrian access and paving the way for large numbers of retail-sheds on infill sites.

The etymology of street names and their layouts reveal a much older town, developing around a few principal. Places refer to buildings long lost and ancient in origin. Between the regular block patterns of the 19th century and the intrusive circulation of the 20th, their remains clusters of rambling buildings arranged around claustrophobic yards from the 18th century. These are sited along Kirkgate, the ancient highway to Leeds.

The process of drawing can bring out these layers, as an act that constantly leaves traces upon a surface. This series of drawings attempt to map the appearances and disappearances of Huddersfield, significant circulation routes within the town and their adaptation into later urban strategies. Furthermore they prefigure the possibility of digital technologies as a medium which can disrupt the static boundaries of urbanism, and re-inscribe a more fluid relationship with the past.

Fig: 1 Huddersfield 1716

Fig: 2 Huddersfield 1850

Fig: 3 Huddersfield 1930

Fig: 4 Huddersfield 1980