Dorchester Master Plan

The town centre of Dorchester has been examined and surveyed in a number of different ways over the past two years; I joined Feria Urbanism to analyse these findings and suggest what it could mean for the county town’s future. After exploring Dorchester, my lasting impression was of how walkable the town was… even in 30°C heat. This was due to leafy boulevards, good access routes throughout the town and the high number of distinctive landmarks make it easy to navigate. Thomas Hardy characterised Dorchester in his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. He states “It was compact as a box of dominoes” which endorses the notion of Dorchester as a network of recognisable features and inspired my playful, scattered composition.