RURAL CIVIC - Contemporary public domain in Hanstholm

Hanstholm is a young town that was created to support a significant working harbour established in 1967. It was organized in accordance with the modernist and functionalist town planning principles endemic of that era, and was intended to operate as a dynamic and self-sufficient town  of  6000-10000 people. However, whilst the harbour is thriving, the town stands today with a population of around only 2000 people and a built fabric that is fractured and decaying.

This project is concerned with re-imagining the civic landscape of Hanstholm, and in contributing to a wider discourse about contemporary public domain in rural settlements - a subject that has been overshadowed in recent decades by the focus given to the rapidly-developing urban condition. Whilst there is an undeniable  trend of worldwide urbanisaton, it is important to sustain and enrich existing communities and the welfare and wellbeing of people living in rural areas that are necessary for agricultural and industrial production.

The proposed strategy rejects the generic and fractured plan of the town’s conception  in favour of embracing its unique setting and creating new civic infrastructure and meaningful connections between the distinct zones of settlement, industry and landscape. The plan offers new narratives of attractive potentials for Hanstholm and its residents in the form of 50 interventions distributed across the town’s greater area. Each of these are designed to be robust, economical and to work both individually and as part of a greater network, empowering the local residents to shape their own enriched public domain.