ter·ra fir·ma
noun
"solid earth" (from terra, meaning "earth", and firma, meaning "solid")
Origin: Latin
OUR APPROACH
Our Practice works to help build the foundations of communities, through continual experimentation and local knowledge. Terra Firma leaves having retold and rediscovered the multiplicity of identities the project holds. Leaving no stone unturned and re-using common local materials to enforce local familiarity and identity. We hope to provide users with the foundations to pave there future communities - letting them decide their own story.
The final aspect of our practice is to create a 'shell' that caters to a variety of groups within the community and allows them to adapt and mould the space around their specific needs.
At Terra Firma we aim to create architecture from the ground-up. Rather than telling communities what they need we provide a foundation and platform, that enables an area to grow and adapt to the needs of the local people.
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Our core values are to; Nurture, be Identifiable, be Inclusive and to maintain a level of Materiality. By Nurture we want to guide and assist local businesses and people, rather than forcing them in a direction. To be Identifiable we aim to take into account the history of a place in terms of what was there, and why. Inclusive pushes us towards a goal that enables the whole area rather than just a small focused group of the community. Finally, Materiality means that we take careful consideration when using materials. Understanding their embodied carbon, how they have already been used and how they can be used in the future.