The objects in the Weatherman`s Place can be seen as an extension of the Weatherman in that they:

a)control his ritual actions (waking, measuring etc)

b)serve to embody certain of his characteristics through their materiality, movement, orientation etc.

The act of construction aids the act of construing.

The ritual makes reference to the existing (Koffee Pot, Newspaper Kiosk), the variable (seasons, path of the sun) and the memories (meeting place ) of Stevenson Square.

The objects make new marks in the fabric of the square.

Objects included in Weatherman`s Place:

Weatherman’s Residence - sandstone and brick. Bedroom facing east. Changing Room with various costumes. Yard.

Steps - facing Koffee Pot.


Consultation boxes - concrete. top lit. The Weatherman gives his advice to inhabitants through a small metal grill.

Box at Newspaper Kiosk - similar to advertising boards.

Tower - steel frame, copper clad. Moves on tracks along the square. Its position is determined by the path of the sun. One oscillation per year. Various panes can be propped up or opened.

The ritual of the Weatherman takes place in Stevenson Square everyday.

Weatherman awakes. Dresses according to weather report.
Reads report from steps to workers in the Koffee Pot in the morning and the evening.

Gives further information to inhabitants in Consultation Boxes.

Posts report in box by Newspaper Kiosk

Takes readings in Tower.

Semester 2

The Wizard`s Place

The narrative for a Place for a Wizard draws on the history, memories and mythologies associated with Alderley Edge acknowledging that the site has amongst other things:

a)associations with Arthurian legend

b)been the scene of tragic loss of life in its time.

The narrative of the Wizard is about his sorrow and his hopes. His son has been lost down one of the mines. The Wizard awaits his return.

Objects involved in the narrative of the Wizard are:

Wizard`s House.

Temporary residence. Timber, post and beam construction. The house has room for him to live, eat, wash, and sleep. It has an open terrace on the south and a closed yard on the west. The Wizard has hope in the morning. The Wizard is sad in the evening.

Circulation Gantry.

Steel frame, metal panels. The panels age, rust, decay. The Wizard replaces them. The Circulation Gantry is always in a state of erosion and renewal.

Connects House with Tower, and House of Memories. The Wizard travels the gantry every day.

Observation Tower.

Sandstone walls. Timber staircase and viewing platform. The Wizard observes the Engine Vein Mine from the Tower.

House of Memories.

Steel frame clad in marble. Below ground level. Objects found by the Wizard which remind him of his son are placed in niches in the House of Memories.

After Death of Wizard.

Temporary Residence dismantled.

Timber Staircase and platform taken from Tower.

Wizard placed in niche in House of Memories.



B.A.(hons)Architecture 1997/1998
Unit 01 - Rick Dargavel

Under the Sky and Into the Earth - from natural to cultural landscape.

Phenomenological issues of identification and orientation inform the theoretical position of the unit supported by architectural texts,precedents and anthropological case studies.

The aim is for a meaningful and architectural intertwining of idea,subject,object and site.

The characterisation of the principal figure in relation to a developed narrative for the physical context is central to the unit as is a proposition regarding materiality.

The Semester 1 project was 'The Weatherman in the City' located in Stevenson Square,Manchester - an important yet desolate and abused public square dating back to the 18th. century.

The Semester 2 project was 'The Legend of The Iron Gates or,The Wizard of The Edge' located in rural Cheshire and a site rich in local mythology.

Jeremy Marsden's response to both projects was a distilled and poetic narrative,developed and communicated to the highest order.
The qualities of mortal presence and material expression are self-evident as is the contextual and cultural fit in relation to these 'strong' landscapes.

Both projects in their different ways explore the human and geological histories of sites,detailed tographies,archaeology and mythology.

By characterising the 'leading actor' within the narratives,Jeremy Marsden has also successfully brought into play human interaction within the architectural narrative.This is most evident in 'The Weatherman's Place' where the Koffee Pot cafe and news kiosk are central to his contextual proposition - a sensitive delight in the ordinary yet fundamental character of place.

Each project displays a keen observation of material landscape,whether natural or constructed,whether evident or uncovered - from the observed structure of the surface of the ground to the image seen through a scanning electron microscope.

The qualities of the sky and the poetics of decay and rebirth can be read into each project.

Habitational expression is considered throughout and related back to his generative narrative - the qualities of being underground and those of being up in the sky,the exact placement of furniture and the textural qualities of interior surfaces.

The qualities of constructed form and surfaces are never totally without light but are mutually dependent and intentional.

Jeremy Marsden's drawing skills are first rate yet he knows what he draws and does not draw what he does not intend.