Grace Wardle

This is a overview of my third year project Wayfinder.

Wayfinder is a grief support and communal centre created for young adults aged 18–29 who have experienced the loss of a parent or guardian. Situated at Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin canal, the project responds to the growing need for accessible and affordable grief support services by offering a non-clinical environment centred around wellbeing, connection and healing.

Inspired by the city’s canal heritage, the design draws from the historic canal locks engineered to raise and lower water levels, symbolising the emotional highs and lows experienced through grief. Just as canal systems were created to guide movement and transition, the building uses circulation and spatial flow to represent grief as a continuous journey rather than a fixed process.
Water is integrated throughout the building to engage the senses through sound, reflection, movement and atmosphere, helping to reduce stress and encourage mindfulness. Combined with warm natural materials, therapeutic spaces and flexible routes of movement, Wayfinder creates a safe and restorative place where young adults can access support, build community and move through grief at their own pace.