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Training for Housing Association Design Review Panels

Submitted by Hannah Gibbs

We were recently commissioned by First Wessex Housing Association in Southampton to deliver a two-day training course for members of three design review panels.

Some of the group (a mixture of staff and residents) had just joined the panels and others had been involved for years.  I worked closely with our Glass-House Enabler Matt Lally to develop a programme which would give this group of mixed experience the knowledge and tools needed to undertake design reviews.

During the course we explored ‘What makes a great neighbourhood?’ and helped the group to understand the basic principles of neighbourhood design.

To help the group better understand how to assess plans for proposed schemes, we gave them drawings of Chapel Road - a completed housing scheme in the locality and asked them to identify various features. This exercise was much more difficult than expected and really demonstrated the challenges of reading plans.

We then visited the scheme and assessed it according to the Building For Life Criteria. The group had very different impressions of the development after visiting it; it brought the plans to life, whilst highlighting the things you just can’t tell from a drawing such as the atmosphere of a place.

By the end of the two-day course, all of the members of the design panels had:

• Learned how to read and analyse a variety of architectural plans
• Grasped the key principles that make up good neighbourhood design and gained practical tools to help them during future design reviews
• Explored the difficulties of home design and the challenges in creating internal spaces that are practical
• Gained confidence in their own ability to make a really positive and meaningful contribution to the design of new homes and neighbourhoods
• Become awa re of the various criteria and standards that relate to home and neighbourhood design
• Been inspired by visiting two housing schemes that are up and running
• Gained a full appreciation of the need to consider the wider context of a scheme in order to assess it accurately

Some of the residents now feel that they need to be much more demanding and be more involved at an earlier stage so that they can have greater say in the design of future First Wessex schemes. It was fantastic to see participants’ confidence grow over the two days and see staff and residents learning together.

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Neighbourhoods by Design: Designing change

Submitted by Maja Jorgensen

Neighbourhoods by Design, one of our longest-running design training courses, has undergone a re-vamp of late. 

The Design Training course is a whistle-stop introduction to urban design and gives participants the chance to develop their community neighbourhood project. Despite the name, urban design applies to anywhere people live, including urban, suburban, town and rural settings – in essence, urban design is about what makes great places. 

We were very excited for the opportunity to use our new material at the Neighbourhoods by Design course, which took place in Birmingham in February. 

Three groups attended the course: St Paul’s Residents Association, Moseley Forum and the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Forum. Each group is working on rather different scales and face very different challenges, but all three projects are focused on how to improve their neighbourhood through physical change. 

Over the course of two days participants learned about approaches to place-making, how to decode architectural language and drawings, and visited several neighbourhood projects, including a large-scale re-build of an estate and a small food-growing space just up the canal from where we held the training. 

Most importantly, learning from this range of approaches was applied to each of their projects. Groups mapped out how their places work and used ideas and learning to consider which change would be appropriate and how these changes could take place. 

Here are some of our favourite pictures.

The groups map out their area to understand how it works -

St Paul's Residents Association present back their findings and everyone chips in with ideas and feedback -

A field trip to Wychall Farm provided real inspiration about the difference engagement can make to a place, both in built form and in social cohesion and capacity -

The groups develop their designs and action plans based on case studies, presentations and advice from our Enablers and the other participants -

Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Forum present their findings and action plan for everyone's comments and ideas -

Moseley Forum's final work includes analysis maps, sketches and detailed suggestions to manage traffic flow and make Moseley Village more accessible and viable -

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Guest Blog: Building Consensus in Oxford on Leap Day!

Submitted by Stephen Smith

The Glass-House marked Leap-Day with a workshop at Cutteslowe Community Centre in Oxford. Chief Executive Sophia de Sousa was joined by Glass-House Enabler Stephen Smith of Wright & Wright Architects and research partners from the Open University.

Located at a seemingly commonplace residential edge; several complex contextual emerged – the sense of a gateway building to a Primary School and Children’s Centre; an expanse of parkland both adjacent to it and beyond the bypass footbridge to allotments; and the proximity of the site of some nationally significant cartographic scars – the spike-topped Cutteslowe Walls – that previously divided streets between Council Houses and Private Ownership.

The group were engaged in a series of activities to begin to evolve a project vision for the transformation of the Centre. Discussion was animated and thoughts were articulated about creating a warmer and welcoming threshold, cross generational activity and planning and an understanding about further outreach and engagement.

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Lots to learn from Neighbourhoods Study Tour in Sheffield

Submitted by Hannah Gibbs

South Owlerton in Sheffield made a fantastic case study for us to visit on a Study Tour we ran as part of the Building Community programme – supporting communities to become ‘neighbourhood planning’ ready. A number of community groups came with us to hear from South Owlerton Area Regeneration (SOAR) and tour their huge array of projects including a library, a community centre, an enterprise centre, a park and street improvements.

SOAR was originally set up by community activists and has done a huge amount of work to try and make South Owlerton which suffered from multiple deprivation a better place to live.

Groups involved in neighbourhood planning may find these learning points from the day useful:

• Projects need leadership - Each neighbourhood in the area was designated a support worker throughout the regeneration. This really helped to drive projects
• Spend time and money on building quality - SOAR decided early on to spend a bit more money on their buildings to give them distinctive features, giving the area some character. Some residents were unsure about this and felt it would be better to ‘get more building for their money’ but with hindsight, they are pleased they made this decision as the buildings they now have are of high quality
• Speak to others! - In developing the SOAR Enterprise Centre, the group spoke to other Enterprise Centres in Yorkshire & Humber and this really helped to inform their design brief
• Involve young people in a positive way – Young people in South Owlerton were involved in developing local parks and instead of vandalising those parks, were encouraged with an artist to paint graffiti to decorate them
• Work together – We felt that much of the successful regeneration in this area was due to a close working relationship with the council and others

Many thanks to SOAR for hosting us, to Sarah Hollingworth from Architecture 00:/ for  being the Enabler (providing architectural and urban design expertise on the day) and all the groups who came along.

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Groups gain design confidence in Basingstoke

Submitted by Imogen Willetts

On a chilly December morning, the Glass-House team arrived at a frosty Basingstoke for our first Neighbourhoods by Design training course this year. Despite a brief hiccup involving a faulty projector and a fruitless trip to ‘Computer Exchange’, we had a really great 2 days and were so impressed with the imaginative and coherent designs the groups produced. 

We had a great range of groups, from large scale projects involving whole towns to design panels working on an individual regeneration scheme at a retirement home. All had clear aims and objectives and thought about the practical ways to achieve these ambitions – be it for a retirement home to have an ‘old peoples playground’ (think University campus for the over 60s – amazing!) to make it a livelier place, or to create better transport links with neighbouring Chichester for another group.  

The two days gave succinct introductions to various design concepts and urban planning thanks to engaging presentations from our Glass-House Enablers, architects Alex and Matthew. The field trip to Oakridge village gave us a chance to chart the narrative of a project, from funding, to design, to buildings maintenance and community involvement. This gave a useful overview of how similar projects work from start to finish, reminding us of how little steps can contribute to the overall goal. Oakridge also participated previously in Glass-House design training, so it was really inspiring for us to see how the project has developed since its early stages.

 Matthew gave an impressive presentation on the Community Land Trust in Albuquerque that has successfully built and maintained affordable housing with intelligently designed community spaces, that I think got everyone thinking about the possibilities of their projects. He really highlighted the importance of well-designed public spaces – in terms of community hubs and linking walkway, reminding us how simple design choices such as planting flowers and shrubbery along a pavement can transform the feel of a neighbourhood. 

The groups also were able to spend plenty of time sketching out a design brief – so all left with something they could show to their architects and council members. These were done with the help of some impressive plasticine models – and of course motivated by Matthew’s impromptu piano playing!

* Imogen Willetts has been volunteering with The Glass-House since September 2011

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Exploring the Neighbourhoods of Stroud and Bristol

Submitted by Hannah Gibbs

Last Thursday we led a group of local community members and support workers on a Neighbourhoods Study Tour around Stroud and Bristol.

The aim of the day was for groups to witness first hand how local people have made a positive and lasting impact on their neighbourhoods: physically, socially, environmentally and economically.

We visited two  co-housing schemes, Springhill and Ashley Vale, and learnt about the work of Stroud Common Wealth (SCW), a social enterprise group who are gradually regenerating parts of Stroud by revitalising old buildings and setting up Community Land Trusts.

At each site, we were guided by a community member who had been involved in the project. We heard about the challenges encountered by groups and how they were overcome. It was so inspiring to meet people who have designed and built their own homes, and to find out how an unconventional approach has had such a positive impact on the lives of people living in these neighbourhoods.

The groups who came along on the tour left feeling motivated and inspired by our hosts and by each other!

We have three more Study Tours coming up before the end of March 2012 (see www.theglasshouse.org.uk/training-and-events for more info). The Glass-House can also create a tailored tour to suit your groups’ needs.

Get in touch if you’re interested.

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In Bruges: Belgian students present their plans for East London site

Submitted by Sophia de Sousa

This week I paid a swift visit to Bruges, where I sat on a jury to assess 3rd year Applied Architecture students from Howest University College West Flanders who have developed masterplans for a mixed-use site close to the Olympic village in East London.  Fourteen groups presented their ideas on how to transform an industrial canal-side site into a place to live, work and play. 

The students had visited the area in September and were struck by the scale, density and diversity of East London, all of which they tried to respond to in their final plans.

They were also introduced to some of the challenges currently facing designers and the development industry in the UK and in particular in London.

Some very interesting ideas were put forward, particularly around sustainable technologies, and some quite playful references were made to the site’s industrial past. There were also a number of really evocative and sculptural designs.

Given their limited contact with the site, it was of course challenging for the students to gain a real understanding of its social, economic and environmental context.

This led to some gaps in their ideas and provoked interesting discussion around context, accessibility, financial viability and the balance between public and private realm.

Above all, we explored the real challenges of achieving quality of place for those who will live, work and play on the site and for those who manage, service and maintain it. 

My parting advice to the students was to think of all of the people who will come into contact with the site, intentionally or through circumstance. 

To achieve quality of place, any designer must be informed by local context and understand the complex balance of local needs and aspirations.

*Thank you to lecturer Rob van Helvoort and his students for allowing us to show some of their design ideas in this blog.

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