The Sneinton Island Leather Centre is a project based on the thematic and programmatic contexts of the Nottingham canal-side site. The guiding design philosophy behind this project is phenomenological, and as such particular attention has been paid to the nature of experience throughout this project.
To begin with the programmatic context of the site; when conducting research into the past functions of the site, it was revealed that there was once a large industrial tannery on the site, which at the time was referred to as the “Sneinton Island”. The eponymously-named tannery was established in 1881 by the Turney brothers, who saw opportunity in Nottingham’s inactive leather industry, and set up operations on what is today a residential block of flats. The Turney Bros. tannery employed hundreds of people from the local area and provided skilled, practical jobs where they were sorely needed, and was a well-esteemed employer of the time.
Returning to the present day - the Sneinton Island Leather Centre aims to reintroduce the leather trade to Nottingham once more, except this time with a focus on the trade as an expression not just of economic function, but also of the connection between hand, eye, and mind. The Sneinton Island Leather Centre will provide jobs to local residents based on skilled, practical labour, and act as a centre for the generation and perpetuation of the skills and knowledge required to work with leather.