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themes, and eight projects, by studio polpo
prepared for:
The Architecture Foundation
The Finnish Institute in London
Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo
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artistic intervention
a pair of low-tech community engagement tools that brought creativity to inner city estates and empowered those who interacted with them
Background
wheelchair user. There was also a very limited budget
The Drawing Shed is a project initially conceived by
and the structure needed to be built locally with readily
artists Sally Barker and Sally Labern as part of the
available, and easily workable materials.
London ‘Be Creative, Be Well’ programme. This was managed and funded by the Arts Council, to commis-
What we did
sion creative activities and arts that would bring de-
Studio Polpo created a wheeled box that, when closed,
prived communities in ‘Super Output Areas’ together,
was able to fit through a domestic door, yet opened up
promote healthy activities and improve local environ-
to create a larger enclosure. The box was painted with
ments.
blackboard paint and mounted on heavy duty castors.
Why a shed?
The Power of the shed
The Drawing Shed was conceived as a space that
The Drawing Shed was very successful in stimulat-
would enable people to draw, particularly adults who
ing the curiosity of the communities and groups that
had maybe not drawn since school, or those who
encountered it, often children would bring parents and
would say “ I can’t draw” if asked. The space was to
families would doodle and draw together in a space
be a non-threatening and neutral space but one that
removed from the ‘normal’ world. The young men
was different enough for workshop participants to feel
staying at the YMCA, often seen as aggressive and
they were in a special place where drawing was fine and
troubled, spent long periods of time drawing and these
expected.
drawings prompted conversations with the artists, the
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men of the YMCA often opening up and talking about
_ the Drawing Shed _ Printbike
The ‘shed’ had to be stored in an empty garage and
personal issues and incidents from their past.
moved around to different venues, some indoors, (the
The act of moving the Drawing Shed from location to
Walthamstow YMCA for example) some outdoors
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(Walthamstow flats common) and accessible by a
location added to the theatre and sense of intrigue and the physical challenge involved would often draw in passers-by who would offer to push it. Evolution Following initial workshops it was felt that the internal height of the box was too low and that an increase in height (although preventing use indoors) would be beneficial. The box was also designed to operate as a
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kiosk, bar, or shop and this is something the artists aim to try in later workshops. The Drawing Shed has also been used by another artist to host a mini museum, where children from one of
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the estates in North London have displayed prized possessions on purpose made OSB plinths and boxes. Future Plans This project has had an enormous impact relative to
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the time and money invested in the structure itself, primarily due to the energy of the artists involved, and its use continues to evolve. The artists are now considering the Drawing Shed 2, a lighter and more crafted object, possibly for the 2012 London Olympics.
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The Printbike This is another project developed by Sally Labern, this time with artist Bobby Lloyd, again as part of the Be Creative, Be Well programme. The starting point for the project was a screen printing facility where people living on an estate in Walthamstow, North London, could come along and create signage with positive messages (to counter the many ‘No…’ signs on the estate) easily and quickly.
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The brief The project evolved into a mobile screen printing facility that could be moved around the estate, or indeed the city, to allow posters, signs and images to made quickly and easily by anyone. The printing facility became something that would be towed by bicycle and self contained, i.e. it would carry the screens, paints,
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paper, roll-up tables and provide a working surface for printing. How we helped Studio Polpo developed a housing that would sit on an adapted bike trailer – the detail of this went through
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numerous refinements and iterations to reduce weight, and make best use of materials. The lid of this box, for example, when removed becomes the support for the removable ‘desktop’ within. Weight and strength were key, and again the structure needed to made by someone with good carpentry (but not specialist manufacturing) skills. A large sail, made by a kite-maker to a design developed by the artists and Studio Polpo, was also included to act as a windbreak, rain shelter, or banner.
Taking it outside
colourful and upbeat signage for example was very
The Printbike featured in the 2010 London ‘Big Draw’
powerful.
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where it sat adjacent to London’s City Hall and Tower Bridge and the artists secured sponsorship from
The next steps
Brompton, in the form of one of their folding bikes in
Due in part to this success, and also looking at how
a vivid orange which the trailer was painted to match.
to use this in other ways, the artists have looked how
The print making workshops have been very popular
the Printbike may be taken to further flung parts of
with participants able to produce graphically striking
London where cycling a great distance would be too
and powerful images fairly easily – the estate filled with
time consuming or exhausting. Studio Polpo have now designed a flexible waterproof fabric cover with reflective text pattering to replace the timber lid, a lightweight foldable tabletop, and minor modifications to the main box itself, which now enable the main box to fit into the back of a small family car. The trailer and bike can then be unpacked and moved around the destination as before. These two projects have seen us researching unusual materials, working in a vey enjoyable and collaborative way with the artists and producing objects that act as powerful and imaginative tools for community engage-
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ment.
images 1. Workshop at YMCA, Walthamstow 2. Drawing Shed in Motion enroute to estate 3. Drawing Shed workshop stop on estate 4. Banners produced by children on Printbike 5. Printbike concept diagram 6. Printbike in action at the Big Draw, South Bank 7. Printbike banner/canopy links: www.london.gov.uk/welllondon/becreativebewell/ www.spectacle.co.uk/archive_production.php?id=584
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02 activist research
a campaign to save a vibrant and historic workplace that grew into a vehicle for the empowerment of the tenants, changed local policy, and will lead to a new and positive future for the buildings and their users
_ Portland Works
What is Portland Works?
benefit rather than their bottom line. A vital part of
enacting of sustainable futures. We wanted to make
Portland Works is a Grade II* Listed integrated cutlery
this was to understand the relationship of the building
a case for and creating a useful precedent of activist
factory. A hundred years ago, it was the birthplace of
to the activities within it; in terms of the way the mak-
scholarly research within architecture. We saw that en-
stainless steel manufacturing. Today it is a hub of craft
ing carried out there had shaped the place and also as a
gaged scholarship, community activism and community
and innovation, home to a community of diverse and
physical hub for such diverse businesses. In parallel to
economic development could converged to actually
thriving businesses including metalworkers, engineers,
this we developed an understanding that some things
Save Portland Works from speculative redevelopment;
engravers, artists, wood workers and musicians. This
would have to change in order for the place to remain
whilst proposing new, and hopefully transformative
project was initiated when the landlord submitted a
sustainable. Portland Works is structurally sound, but
things.
Planning Application for ‘Change of Use’: he pro-
in a poor state of repair, and will continue to dete-
posed to close the Works and convert it into bedsit
riorate unless substantial maintenance work is car-
What happened?
flats. Tenants, activists and local people worked first to
ried out; this has implications in terms of developing
The ‘Portland Works Industrial and Provident Society
oppose this, and then, to propose alternatives that gave
management and ownership strategies. The building is
(IPS)’ has now launched Sheffield’s first community
continuity to over 140 years of making at the Works.
currently fully occupied, but improvements to the fire
share issue for the purchase and refurbishment of the
The campaign started to stop Portland Works being
escape, access and zoning will allow for the intensifica-
Works. In order to get here we have explored options,
wiped out, rather than preserving it, and in the process
tion of use, raising rental revenues and bringing new
research precedents, constituted as an IPS, produced
hatched a plan for how it might evolve in the future.
skills and potential on site.
a detailed business plan, developed networks with
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cultural and educational organisations, changed local What is the project?
What has our role been?
planning policy and galvanised local and national sup-
As the campaign grew, so did the realisation that the
Our role as architects was to insist on the importance
port. We have also got to know each other much bet-
place could offer a wider community benefit; in terms
of the connection between the social and political ele-
ter; there have been thousands of hours volunteered,
of culture, heritage and education, and perhaps most
ments and the spatial and relational ones. In order to
funds raised, skills shared and ideas debated.
importantly as a cheap place in the city where ‘making’
do this we worked to establish a framework that would
could happen. It became clear that this was something
allow for the investigation of collective knowledge-
This activist work has taken numerous forms, including
that the tenants wanted as a legacy and saw as a way
production of strategies, and tools and tactics available
exhibitions, conference papers, audits, case studies, stu-
of growing their businesses that was based on social
to economically threatened communities to enable the
dent projects, workshops, and films. It has been carried
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out collaboratively, led by our shared understanding of the project as it developed, with no predetermined outcome. We have facilitated events (for campaign supporters, tenants, local residents, politicians and local, regional, and national agencies), to explore and conceive alternative futures for PW, positively framing and supporting the multiplicity of approaches, voices, registers and ways of operating, valuing contrasts, discrepancies and divergences. What now? The next few months will see us work towards physical changes to the Works; we intend to continue this activist approach which looks at what the building does and
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7 images 1. Plating forks at the works 2. The Works 3. Posters created to raise awareness 4. Workshops to decide on future business models 5. Tours of the works 6. Tours of the works 7. Steering group meetings 8. Workshop activities 9. Tours of the Works 10. Share Offer Launch Party 11. Share Offer Launch Party 12. Documentation of the process so far 13. Case studies as part of the documentation pack links:
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www.portlandworks.co.uk
the various roles it plays for the many people that use the building. We see this as a way to bring together the tangible and intangible aspects of Portland Works, in a genuinely collaborative and open manner. This will involve working with Sheffield University MArch to run a Live Project, where a number of 5th and 6th year students will get involved in developing zoning and phasing plans and approaches to sustainability
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03 provoking & proposing
a self-initiated masterplan and series of creative interventions to focus attention on one of Sheffield’s lost waterways
Background
and M1 motorway.
The Forgotten Spaces 2011 – Sheffield competition,
forms, bird-watching hides, playgrounds, kayak plat-
Taking it forward
forms and a micro-brewery and boathouse at Hillsbor-
There is a vast potential here not for development as
run by the RIBA, forms a starting point for Studio Pol-
The Don from the city to the North-West area of
ough Corner. These would be linked by a walkway that
such (although there are numerous empty sites and
po’s investigations of the Upper Don river in Sheffield.
Hillsborough is a lost world however. Running parallel
is pontoon in places, path in others. The string of well
buildings) but for the opening up of a corridor. Need-
The competition sought ideas for neglected, overseen,
with a major road and close to the supertram track it
regarded microbreweries and real ale-pubs in this area,
less to say we did not win the competition, but Studio
unused or unloved parts of the city and Studio Polpo,
is almost invisible. For a large part it is also inacces-
together with the proximity to the tram are also a draw
Polpo are looking at a next stage now where we are
together with architectural journalist and PhD student
sible, cut off by private car-parks, industrial estates and
for visitors to the city
looking to bring together the many and diverse groups
Steve Parnell, used the competition as a way of explor-
empty sites. This section of river is full of surprises
ing this part of the city.
however; derelict water wheels, curiously named islands (Bacon Island) and an abandoned graveyard.
The context Sheffield, famously, is built on seven hills (‘like Rome’),
Initial Approach
however it also has five rivers that flow into the city
A series of walks enabled us to discover and map these
from the Peak District and surrounding countryside.
places and show, graphically, how much of the river
These generated the power for the grinding wheels of
was inaccessible. It also became apparent that there
the city’s well known cutlery trade, and later powered
was a green (or blue) corridor from the city centre out
steam engines and forge hammers. The rivers also
to the Peak District, waiting to be used.
acted as a drain and industrial waste conduit and for this reason were, until not so long ago, heavily pol-
Over a number of walks we discovered the lengths that
luted, and devoid of marine life. As the works build-
had been gone to, to prevent access to the river but
ings backed straight onto, or even bridged over, the
also the sense of calm, escape and nature only minutes
rivers (the station is built over a culverted section of
from a dual carriageway.
river) they became invisible. A loose ‘masterplan’
_ Forgotten Spaces Sheffield 2011
In recent years, with the decline of industry, different
Our proposals for the competition fell slightly outside
forms of power and increasing environmental aware-
the exact brief in that we had not picked a specific site
ness, river walks and residential river-side develop-
but a large linear area of the city. Our suggestions for
ments have appeared along the River Don from the
what might happen here were outline and ranged from
city centre, East to the Meadowhall shopping centre
very simple to complex: picnic benches, fishing plat-
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There is a huge potential to re-invigorate a fantastic natural asset and a unique space in the city and create an escape from the urban into the rural, and a place to explore and adventure. Why wait to be comissioned, architects should be initiating the masterplanning process from the bottom up and making this an engaging journey for all interested and affected. This is just a starting point!
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that are involved in the river (these include fishing groups, kayakers, the Environment Agency, heritage
ate street furniture from found objects along the river,
groups and a local renewables group) to see how some
to a series of balloons that mark the river’s course
of these ideas might be implemented.
from the street . All of these will capture the imagination and publicise the are in question. An ideas compe-
Creative Provocations
tition to design the objects/landscapes along the route,
We have been looking at artistic and provocative ways
or just to highlight the remarkable features already in
of generating discussion and interest. Ideas such as a
existance is another possibility.
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images 1. Existing river view 2. Existing river - collage 3. Inaccessible area map (orange) 4. Proposals 5. Early exploration 6. Proposals collage 7. Proposals collage
series of walks and workshops, where participants cre-
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04 flexibility and detail
a careful and consdidered building intervention and a new way of working in the meanwhile spaces of the city
The Background
Our intervention
clients re-located to an empty shop unit in the Univer-
Studio Polpo were commissioned to re-work the inte-
We also created a large window seat and glazed open-
sity Students Union. During this time they ran an ideas
rior of the Enterprise Zone building by the Universi-
ing to the formerly windowless meeting space and
competition and were keen to have a strong presence
ty of Sheffield’s Enterprise Centre (U.S.E.). The centre
through use of built-in joinery and lighting formed a
in their temporary home. Studio Polpo were com-
acts as an information point for students for all things
library-like space for quite study or group-work that
missioned by U.S.E to fit-out the empty unit in a cost
business and enterprise related and runs seminars,
is visible from the entrance. The building and new
effective but eye-catching way, but also in a way that
competitions and events for students and graduates on
facilities were also made fully wheelchair accessible and
allowed the unit to be turned into something else after
business start-up and social enterprise issues.
DDA compliant whilst remaining true to the original
they had left at a minimal cost.
colour concept and strategy. Design Approach
The client had had initial work done by West consultancy who had provided them with re-branding, cor-
Studio Polpo also worked closely with the contractor
Our response to this was to design the ‘Ideas Box’.
porate identity and way-finding strategies for the space.
to develop a purpose made reception desk and locally
A successor to the Drawing Shed, the Ideas Box was
We took this on and developed it to look at wider
sourced slatted timber ceiling at a much reduced cost
mobile office unit that folded up to become a wheeled
issues of day-lighting, build-ability and lighting design,
to commercially available systems.
box that fits through a domestic doorway, but opens to
along with an M&E consultant and Quantity Surveyor.
become a 6m long structure when fully extended. The level of attention to detail is high yet all finishes
The building had been re-furbished relatively recently
and detailing are designed for robustness, and over a
The Ideas Box included a reception desk, hatch/leaflet
by the Universities Estates Department and we worked
year after completion there has been very little wear
rack, storage box/bench with display wall, and adjusta-
carefully to retain or re-use whatever elements we
and tear and the building is popular with staff and
ble storage shelving. The unit was designed with hinges
could to avoid waste (carpets, doors, ironmongery etc)
users.
that enabled each section to swing by 270 degrees,
whilst working with West to change finishes and other
_The Enterprise Zone
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allowing a large number of spatial configurations and
items. Key to the refurbishment was the concept of
What next?
use in a number of ways in a number of places. This
rationalised wall planes that lead the visitor or user in
A second phase of works involving the main space of
meant that the money spent was retained in a structure
and around the space. These hide and house services,
the building may go ahead in the future depending on
that could be used once the client had moved out of
and contain seating niches and radiators, computer
funding available.
the shop unit.
The Ideas Box
The Ideas Box was made from OSB and finished with
Whilst preliminary building works were underway the
non-toxic paints to minimise off-gassing and make best
terminals and storage.
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erate it. The Ideas Box was housed in a purpose built wall niche in the Enterprise Zone upon completion of this building but this was sadly not to be as it was disposed of by someone from the client side during redecoration works. We have had a number of enquiries by other parties in this unit however, and hope to replicate it, with minor improvements, in the future.
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6 use of low-embodied energy materials.
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Gone but not forgotten It was our hope that the Ideas Box would be used extensively if not by the client then by other groups, as
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it was very easy for one person to open, close and op-
11 images
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1. Exterior 2. Reception Area 3. Reception desk seat detail 4. The Ideas Space and window seat 5. Slatted ceiling detail 6. Ideas Box closed 7. Ideas Box open showing shelving and reception hatch 8. Ideas Box fully extended 9. Seat/storage box detail 10. Shelving runner detail 11. Ideas Box partially open 12. Aerial view of open structure
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sowing seeds looking at temporary land use at a micro-level to create stronger community networks through the production and sahring of food
Background
by Studio Polpo to act as an online notice board and
Studio Polpo worked with Transition Crookes/Walkley,
knowledge sharing forum for gardeners.
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part of the UK’s Transition Towns network, looking into issues surrounding Peak Oil and Energy Descent,
Curent situation
to apply for funding for two Sheffield-based commu-
The gardeners come from a broad range of back-
nity growing projects.
grounds and ages and produce food for the centre, a neighbouring sheltered housing development for the
The garden on Hallamgate Road is situated behind a
elderly and themselves. The revitalised green space also
day-care centre run by the City Council for adults with
creates a peaceful but stimulating environment for the
severe learning disabilities. The building, formerly a
centres users who are able to experience the fragrances,
large house, has a garden with a plastic polytunnel and
sounds and textures of the garden. The Hallamgate
was not used by the centre having become overgrown
garden works well as an allotment site amongst fairly
and neglected. A member of staff, herself affiliated
dense housing – there are many allotments nearby that
to a Transition group elsewhere, contacted Transition
require a long walk, or a car journey to access them, as
Crookes/Walkley to see if they would be interested in
well as requiring security and tools, this one has a pool
taking on the garden as a space to grow food.
of equipment, has the security of being overlooked by the centre during the day and is just off a major bus
What we did
route. The centre also benefits from having people
Studio Polpo worked with the group to plan what
onsite at weekends.
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might be done with the space, to talk to the council
_Hallamgate Garden _Walkley Micro Allotments
races has numerous tiny pieces of land in front of its
and centre staff, and apply for Climate Change Fund
The Micro-Allotments
monies to develop the site.
A parallel project to the Hallamgate Road garden was
The funding bid, for over ÂŁ4,000.00 was successful
the Micro-Allotment Initiative. Based in Walkley, a
and was used to by materials, plants, trees, raised beds,
neighbouring area to Crookes, location of Hallamgate
water tanks, and tools which the Transition volunteers
Road, this project looked to initiate small scale food
used to transform the garden into a shared space for
growing in the many unused front garden spaces of
growing food. A website for the site was also set up
Sheffield. Walkley in particular, with its long ter-
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houses. Too small to sit in, often tarmac covered, these offered the potential for long chains of productive spaces. Again, Studio Polpo helped Transition Crookes/Walkley secure funding for a small number of pilot projects and this was used to buy soil, plants and a bike trailer. There were a number of aims of the Micro-Allotment project; to increase food growing capacity, to reduce water run-off and urban heat-island effect, and to
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bring about social change. In many streets the majority of inhabitants are unaware
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WALKLEY micro-allotments
of the majority of their neighbours and we sought to address this by linking together those that may be happy to give their space to another to garden, those that may wish to share resources (either tools, water or crops) or just to provide a talking point to start conversation. We mapped a number of potential ‘actors’ in the network such as elderly people who were physically no longer able to tend a space themselves but would like to see it looked after (and would welcome the opportunity to talk to the ‘gardener’) people with an
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interest in gardening, but with no space of their own, people with an interest in ‘green issues’ and a space, but no time, who could benefit from produce grown
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on their doorstep.
What you can get:
A specially designed compost box made from reclaimed timber A fruit bush or tree A sealed composting container for collecting peelings and scraps A small water butt and timber screen. A raised bed filled with compost and topsoil Seeds and seedlings Volunteers to set-up and tend the plot
How it works:
Transition Crookes/Walkley will agree with you the terms of the use of your space, depending on what you are comfortable with. You may want to be involved, whether this is just watering & weeding, planting, or just benefitting from what is grown. We are also looking for people interested in helping us to look after these sites and establish a larger network in Crookes and Walkley. If you are interested please email or call, details at the foot of the sheet.
Do you have an under-used front garden? Think it’s too small to bother with? No time to look after it? We are looking for people with small front gardens in Walkley who want to take part in a new initiative to create a series of micro-allotments that will turn these spaces into productive plots growing vegetables, herbs or fruit trees or bushes.
Very often the act of delivering materials, tools or
Transition group vounteer, helps co-ordinate sites, lives nearby
Volunteer, spends two hours a week tending and watering her three nearest sites. Has no garden space of her own and finds this relaxing and productive.
Landlord owns four properties that he lets out to professionals or students. Likes the idea that the front of these is looked after especially when empty to help market them, but also keep an eye on the properties.
Elderly person, lives alone & used to like gardening but struggles now and doesn’t like the front garden looking overgrown. Likes to chat to the garden team when he sees them and also gets some seasonal vegetables.
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carry information about the initiative for interested parties, and to public events
distribute seedlings, cuttings and plants to sites from hub
plants in the bike trailer made people aware of the
distribute produce between sites
Transition Groups bike trailer and initiated discussion
deliver / distribute compost to/from sites hub
and interest. This very visible process again created a talking point on a street and more links.
Student household, generally interested in all things green but no real interest in outside spaces - happy to get a bit of cheap and healthy salad or seasonal fruit from the garden. Students get two know elderly man at next site and help him with the odd task.
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the Transition Trailer is based at our hub at the Hallmagate Allotment* site in Crookes and can travel around to all micro-allotment sites. (*see the website at: www.16hallamgate.ning.com)
TC/W
*
www.transitionsheffield.org.uk
*the transition towns initiative raises awareness of, and looks to provide local resilience to issues of peak oil
Student vounteer, helps out on for a few hours each weekend
carry tools & equipment to maintain sites
a Transition Crookes/Walkey initiative 8
Young couple, work and go out a lot, no time or interest in gardening, but keen on the idea of the front garden being useful and supporting the initiative. Use herbs from garden in their cooking, once established.
12 concept and graphics by studio polpo www.studiopolpo.com office@studiopolpo.com
if you are interested please email: or call Mark or Cristina on:
crookes-walkley@lists.transitionsheffield.org.uk 0114 267 6861
images 1. Gardeners meet at Hallamgate 2. Drawing Shed in Motion enroute to estate 3. Initial publicity 4. Productive raised beds on site 5. Productive raised beds on site 6. Volunteers clear roots 7. Bramble removal 8. Micro-Allotment equipment kit 9. Early stage of Micro-Allotment 10. Transition trailer delivering raised bed kits 11. Runner beans at garden 12. Micro-Allotment publicity 13. Seed propagation 14. Off-raod planters
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/
practice profile
Dissatisfied with the architectural status-quo and that
search into Architectural Practice and Education.
the design of places we live is dictated by the financial
Mark continues to collaborate with Architype, a prac-
interests of the few, we sought to create a practice that
tice at the forefront of sustainability and with roots in
enables and initiates, rather than responds and reacts.
the Walter Segal self-build movement, and this enables
In a climate of significant cuts to the public sector
Studio Polpo to keep up to date with developments in
and a considerable drop in private investment in the
sustainable approaches to technology and construction
built environment we seek to tactically occupy gaps,
and the surrounding debates.
sometimes to critique, often to propose otherwise. Our work allows us to investigate what roles architects
We are based in both Sheffield and London and this
could and should take in these matters of concern.
allows us to operate locally, close to our situation, but always be connected to other places and ideas. Situat-
Our social enterprise model allows us to instigate our
edness is key to our approach to practice and projects
own projects and offer free or subsidised design work
away from our bases are always in collaboration with
for ethical projects. Crucially this also facilitates our
local partners.
questioning of the dominant the economic system, whilst tactically taking opportunities that it provides.
“...a building cannot be defined by what it is and what it means... but only by what it does: what kind of disputes it provokes and how it resists to attempts of transformation in different periods of time and according to the variable geometry of different human and non human actors...it manifests agency in design; far from shaping social identities and relationships, it simply connects architecturally.” (Yaneva 2009)
Sheffield offers a unique location for a practice such as ours. A city with a long history of socialism and co-
We collaborate on multi-disciplinary spatial, social
operatives it has been a hotbed of change and protest
and environmental design with those that might not
throughout history. As a post-industrial city that has
otherwise have access to architectural skills. We learn
declined and had to re-invent itself there are numer-
too from their experiences and approach. This allows
ous opportunities (seen by many as problems) both in
us to be open to answers to spatial and relational ques-
terms of creative or temporary (re)uses of land and a
tions which may not always be to design a building,
very particular landscape. The city also sits at the edge
but could sometimes be a strategy, an action or an
of the Peak District National park, and the countryside
event. Our practice brings together research, practice
reaches into the heart of the city along the river valleys.
and teaching; each critically questions and informs the
This connection is a strong one and enables even the
other.
most blast-deafened and grimy steelworker, or lobotomised call-centre worker to escape into pure and raw
Studio Polpo consists of five people; Cristina Cerulli,
nature and wander along cliffs, moors and waterfalls.
Anna Holder, Mark Parsons, Stuart Thomason and
This unique history and topography, together with a
Julia Udall, all of whom have overlapping fields of
renowned friendliness and openness, have resulted in a
interest and activity yet with distinct areas of expertise.
city where the centre is relatively small and community
Our structure is flat and all people initiate or collabo-
networks are strong. It is easy to connect with others in
rate on projects. Stuart’s role at the Young Foundation
the city and we are strengthened and influenced by it.
Studio Polpo are: Cristina Cerulli Anna Holder Mark Parsons Stuart Thomason Julia Udall
Studio Polpo
brings a non-architectural viewpoint to our work and a wealth of expertise in social and economic thinking
This exchange would be very timely for our practice,
related to enterprise and young people in particular.
allowing us to further consider pressing questions
Anna and Julia’s research is based on socially motivated
facing architects in the UK. We would hope to take
architectural practice, and the tools available to archi-
advantage of this opportunity to co-investigate some
tects to help transform communities, respectively. This
of the following issues; What kinds of roles are
both feeds into and benefits from the issues we look to
architects taking in different contexts and countries?
address in our practice. Cristina brings social enterprise
Has the remit of what architects ‘design’ broadened
issues into architectural education and equips students
from buildings to also include strategies, networks and
to become initiators and agents as opposed to simply
policies? How do different social and policy structures
employees as well as working across disciplines. She is
impact the ability of architects to initiate projects – as
part of the Sheffield University based research centre
the nature, perception and role of the state are very
The Agency, which carries out Transformative Re-
different in both countries.
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responses to questions
a) What are the main influences and inspirations for your practice? Our main source of inspiration are the people we meet and places we see; our practice is deeply situated in the contexts we are operating in, as professionals and citizens. We are also inspired by a number of ‘spatial agents’ (Schneider and Till 2008), often outside architecture, that have used creativity, ingenuity, determination and canniness to implement collective and individual actions that shift perspectives, exploit loopholes, hijack, resist, collaborate to propose and implement projects and initiatives that make our cities more environmentally and socially just.
b) What are the current issues facing British cities that architects should be addressing? Bacon Island, Upper Don, Sheffield British cities are under increasing pressure of the privatisation of space, yet at the same time investment
approach to mitigating future flooding could offer
for actions, interventions and activities that address
in the built environment form both public and private
Sami Rintala + Marco Casagrande use art and architecture
us insights into re-establishing a better ecological
social and environmental justice. How can we create
sources has been drastically reduced. We are interested
to provoke debate and delight; we’ve followed their
connection in the UK. Sheffield, England’s greenest
the conditions for the emergence of a resilient system
in addressing the following questions:
work for a number of years. No longer a partnership,
city, would particularly benefit from lessons from
of ethical actors working interdependently around/
they remain inspiring.
Finland due to its low-density, proximity to the Peak
in/with urban waters? How can we trigger a shift
District National Park and lack of acknowledgement
towards more just society through rethinking access,
of and strategic planning around the cities’ five rivers.
management and use of urban waterways?
sensitivity to materiality and site. The education and
We would hope to also be able to offer our peers
We instigated a project about a bottom-up reclaiming
promotion of young practices is a pressing concern.
interesting insights into our experience of the social
and rediscovery of Sheffield’s five rivers, which are
economy and of our approach to working with diverse
large part of which are inaccessible to its citizens, and
HDL (Helsinki Design Lab) works critically to influence
communities and actors. As populations are dispersed
through actions and small projects we are building a
- Are there opportunities to occupy (temporal,
policy, and like us, is interested in the notion of
due to conflict and resource scarcity, and the average
community now working towards collective initiatives
economic and physical) gaps,and make visible
‘interdependency’. We are motivated by their skill at
age of the Finnish population increases, will the
around our urban rivers.
intangible strengths?
addressing and then communicating complex problems
demographic of Nordic countries change rapidly?
and innovative solutions.
What issues will this raise and how will architects be
- Does the current situation create space for critical approaches that propose alternatives to market driven
New graduates Rudanko + Kankkunen, combine an
and commercialised places?
understanding of the importance of management with
- Can architects initiate projects that embody and promote ethical values?
placed to help communities and places?
- What roles should and could architects take in these spatial and relational concerns? d) What would you hope to gain from an exchange programme with peers from Finland?
the exchange theme ‘cities and water’?
c) Which architects from Finland do you find most interesting?
e) How could the work of your practice respond to
We would hope to initiate ongoing conversations and collaborations with our peers from Finland and their
Water shapes cities by being the conduit and locus
OK-Do work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative
networks, and see the exchange as an opportunity to
of activities and exchanges and plays a significant
way. Their synthesis of research and activist practice
look at projects and landscapes on both sides with
role in their complex ecology (including at economic
is something we are exploring; it is exciting to see in
fresh eyes. Finland’s much stronger connection to
and environmental levels). Our particular interest is
another context.
nature and cities such as Helsinki with their proactive
to explore water in urban contexts as a prime site
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Thank you for reading this document, we hope that you have found it interesting. Should you require any further information on anything shown here please do not hesitate to contact us. studio polpo, june 2011
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