| Summary: | This thesis explores the issues surrounding the ruins of the Clayburn Company Ltd.
Since its demolition in 1930, the original source of pride and income for the company town has
become more and more invisible except in the memories of some long-term residents. Now
that the village is populated by a new generation that wishes to rejuvenate and adopt the
idealistic past of Clayburn Village, interest has turned to the overgrown lot where the factory
once stood. For the rest of the village, the path to revitalizing Clayburn Village has been
obvious. Many of the most important houses and three non-residential structures still stand
and have been restored. However, only traces of the brick factory remain, leaving the options
about how to pay homage more various and less obvious.
This paper relates a history of Clayburn, then explores the construction of histories and
the importance of artifacts to support those histories. In this case the artifacts in question are
buildings. Current actions being taken to restore the built heritage of the village demonstrate
the commitment on the part of residents to that means of preserving their history. Possible
options are explored, from low to high levels of intervention, ranging from leaving the ruins to
the attrition of time, until they finally dissolve, to building directly over the ruins with an
obviously new building.
The proposed plan for the site takes a stance between these two extremes. The program
for the site includes a visitor's centre of modern design, that is not located where buildings
previously existed, and landscape elements that mark the former locations of brick plant
buildings. A careful weighing of several criteria, including the desire to impart as much
information as possible, while not confusing the visitor as to antiquity or detracting from the
future use of the site as a green space, resulted in the final design. The value of the experience
of the ruins as a project in progress was also felt to be important.
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