Architecture students present ideas on how to reimagine ruins
23 April 2026
Final year BA(Hons) Architecture students have been creating and presenting a collection of inspiring, fresh ideas on how to bring a new and sustainable future to the Palladian mansion at Carclew, which was destroyed by a fire in 1934.
The Grade II* listed ruins are part of the mining World Heritage Site designation and require a sensitive approach with consideration towards maintaining a low footfall. This added an additional complexity for students and their ideas.
Taking into consideration the rich stories of the house and grounds, digital survey resources and its archival investigation, Falmouth students presented their ideas on how to restore and adapt the remaining structure to the client group, the project architect Frances Crow and Patrick Newberry.
The students were invited by the client group to present to 100 people at a fully booked presentation held at Devoran Village Hall as part of a talk on ‘Saving Carclew’.
The proposals on how to transform the structure included a variety of captivating ideas: a centre for stonemasonry skills, a photography archive highlighting the connection of the house with early photography and the scientist and inventor Henry Fox Talbot, a Cornish seed bank which draws on the connection between the previous owners the Lemon family and a biomaterial construction research centre.
BA(Hons) Architecture student, Abe Ursell said: “Sharing my design approach for ‘Saving Carclew’ with the Devoran community was an invaluable opportunity to engage with local stakeholders and understand the community’s perspective on heritage and design.
“My approach centred around a sensitivity to the story and feeling that the Carclew ruins have; I felt it was important to ensure my proposal directly engaged with the existing fabric of the house, maintaining historical clarity. My choice to go with a photographic archive and residency was spurred by this, my reasoning being that an archive is a vessel for memory and that it felt like a harmonious pairing for Carclew.”
The owners of Carclew Mansion are set to work with Falmouth’s BA(Hons) Architecture course for a further two years, giving students the chance to continue their research and receive valuable client feedback.
Gaining experience in working on real-world projects through a live brief, using their creativity and sensitivity to come up with new, exciting ideas is an important feature of the course.
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