claires portfolio

EmPowering The New Women of Somers Town Claire Taggart- Year 4 -UNIT 22

ireland

pakistan

india bangladesh ethiopia

somers town, london

somalia

Displaced migrant communities of Somers Town

ampthill square estate:

issues/difficulties in your home/community life and how you might solve them...

hopscotch asian women’s centre:

ravenscroft primary school:

Conversations with recent migrants in somers town issues/suggestions that came up in conversations with members of somers town migrant communities

somers town female migrants more susceptible to: depression and mental health issues ill health due to confinement, lack of activity and excercise financial difficulties and unemployment sustained domestic abuse due to dependency on partner

due to: social isolation difficulty with integration culture shock change of family structure and role difficulty with english language lack of education and employable skills cultural/religious boundaries

Female migrant communities in Somers Town vulnerabilities of new migrant women

aurat enterprise berkshire ‘to empower and encourage women from minority groups to engage in learning’

community cleaning services tower hamlets ‘tackling social exclusion’

free training and ESOL classes flexible working hours for family commitments staff away days and women’s group networking to encourage integration

hopscotch asian women’s centre camden ‘supporting social and economic empowerment of women and their families’

shaah iyo sheeko women’s group barnet and harrow ‘breaking isolation through volunteering’

‘understanding and appreciation of the arts among muslim women’

‘supporting muslim women to participate in sports at all levels’

ESOL english classes craft and sewing classes training in homecare for carers of children, disabled and elderly advice on housing, employment and health issues

building awareness of eductaion system, political processes and legal system involvement in parent-teacher associations, local councils and communtiy consultative groups

ulfah arts birmingham

muslim women’s sport foundation

targeted regular community newsletter emplomyent and enterprise centre training schemes job club and forum for single parents

all-female music tuition sessions ulfah collective band- performing publically

training sessions in all-female environments with professional coaches providing faith-sensitive competitive opportunities

Case Studies empowering migrant women in their communities

state and connect

meet and chat

learn and develop

visit and share

collaborate and produce

exercise and socialise

Six ideas to empower migrant women of Somers Town shared and private feminine spaces in and around their homes

steel frame staircase fixes onto facade framework

Staircases on housing facades state their presence and connect balcony spaces

Not-So-Secret Staircases stating the women’s presence in their homes and privately connecting them

creating social feminine spaces along balconies

facade framework for sliding staircases connecting homes

Sliding Staircases staircases slide up, down and across facade to be used in different homes

park seat with encorporated children’s climbing frame provides a social meeting point

Park Bench providing opportunities for social encounters outside the house

Deployable shelter with seating creates privacy in public spaces structure hinges out from single fixed upright ring

sharing a cup of tea: bringing intimate indoor activities out

Park shelter creating an enclosed private space in public area

communal farming along balcony spaces

communal micro-farming project where food is cultivated and shared between the women

Communal Farming Project hanging baskets within homes and along balconies to grow food

structure creates connected, communal social spaces along balconies

trellises begin to construct new building facade

growing boxes and foldable trellises for small-scale farming produce

Communal Farming Facade farming project begins to become part of the building facade

connecting steel wires pull trellis structure into shape

bent wood frame trellises hinge out from main framework

Collected rain water flows through pipes in framework to sprinkle plants

Removable, collapsible fabric growing containers hook onto structure

waste plant produce composts and feeds back into base of soil bed

trellises fix onto balcony framework

Trellis framework facade system trellises fitted onto a main facade framework

planting, cultivating, harvesting and composting

Cultivation of crops along balcony spaces

Book Exchange Librarysecret bricks slip out from brickwork between apartments and along walkways and corridors

private personal home study space

Book Exchange private and shared spaces for the women to study

food Exchange WallTwo-way kitchen wall opens between neighbours and into communal spaces

books farming produce toys household items

Sharing of food and household items in specified deposit boxes and fridges

opens and connects home to home creating opportunity for other social encountersto be appropriated, used and mis-used as desired...

Exchange & Sharing Wall sharing of food and household items between homes

exchange windows create interfaces between homes

placing, taking and replacing

Exchange Windows exchange of objects between different rooms in the house

Route connects parks, streets and homes

goldington estate oakley square gardens

community sports centre

brill place phoenix court

excercise and play stops distributed around neighbourhood

prince arthur

Somers Town Trail neighbourhood walking route

route guided by electronic and physical markers organised and planned by members of walking group and published online each day

screens connected to published online route information screen changes gradually over time to indicate route activity electronic glass screen creates window shading as desired and publishes information for route stops

Digital Window Interface marks out house or flat as a stop on walking route

play net levels overlap for safe climbing

can be accessed from floor above

safe enclosed playground with seating, adult supervision and socialising below built on rooftops and within courtyards

existing walls and built high fences enclose space

Play Landscape layered landscape for children and parents

plastic funnels collect rainwater

water released down through pipes to farming facade climbing nets tensioned from rings

Rain Collection for Farming Facade rooftop play landscape collects water for community farming project

piezoelectric generating crystals woven into netting generate charge to light leds leds integrated into fabric clamps fixing levels of netting together

Reactive Fabric responds to movement and friction, lighting up to show activity within landscape

Play Landscape landscape lights up with movement to indicate activity, encouraging social encounters

grown produce shared

play landscape collects water for farming facade

play/social landscape on rooftops

sharing walls between flats

door and window interfaces indicate and link the women’s homes

trellises make up exterior facade

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s walking route links homes and designs

benches scattered in park areas

Connecting Designs designs inserted into housing typologies

chat

share

grow

connect

meet/play

exercise

Zoetrope Actions ways to empower migrant women of somers town

connect play/meet/chat

grow chat

share

meet/exercise

Zoetrope interactions with designs

grow chat connect share meet play

exercise

Zoetrope interactions with designs (see animation)

changeable anchor points for facade cable net, altering module size

inserted functions

inserted modules

solid steel framework with cable anchor points

facacde anchor points for steel cable net

Parametric Facade Exploration madrid workshop- adjustable cable framework facade system to insert add-on spaces

Rainwater

Sunlight ...made into...

...powers...

Homes...for...

...sold to...

...provide oppotunity of socialising for...

...cultivate...

...sold to...

{

...free up...

...feeds...

Children

Food

...produce...

community

Mothers

...look After...

Plants

Elderly

Neighbours

{

...irrigates...

Electricity

...provides for...

The Power Station empowering the migrant women of somers town through self-sufficiency and community involvement Ampthill Square Estate Somers Town

gillfoot

oxenholm

somers town

dalehead ampthill square estate

Site: ampthill square estate, hampstead road social housing estate in somers town with a large migrant population

euston station

ampthill square estate

ampthill square community facility

Ampthill Square Estate, Hampstead Road 1:2500

demolition site

current

proposed hs2 route

ampthill square estate ampthill square community centre

ampthill square community centre

HS2 high speed rail demolition 1:5000

run-down ampthill square estate towers

disused, soon to be demolished ampthill square community centre

Specific Sites to be addressed Ampthill Square Estate

Sites of intervention in the existing and proposed new build 1:2500

Power Station Aims: replace and revive community facility for ampthill square estate residents give increased independence, social opportunities and aid community integration for resident migrant women

for the women

experience in management, contributing to community and free facilities

self-sufficiency low cost services in new community centre

social meeting spaces producing fresh food produce for themsleves and their households

set up shared childcare network to allow time off and greater freedom to the women

gardens

childcare

open communal spaces fresh food produce available at low cost on site

safe play spaces for children and daytime childcare services near home

all-female spaces for relaxation and socialising

provide educational resources and teaching to develop language and other skills

all-female spaces for improving health and fitness whilst soialising

bath house

library

gymnasium

free library and teaching spaces for whole community

indoor and outdoor spaces for sport- open to communties, societies and clubs at low cost

reviving the bath house as a social event for the communtiy

for ampthill community Power Station Proposal self-powered communtiy centre for ampthill square estate run by resident migrant women

funding:

long-term financing and management:

clients: Compensation Scheme

Ampthill Square Tenants Association

compensation for loss of land and rebuilding of demolished community centre

residents

centre to be run by women with a handfull of paid full-time staff and many part-time female volunteers all services free to staff and volunteers

ampthill square estate management and residents

funding adult eductaion and employment Gender and Employment in Local Labour Markets (GELLM) Comittee

encouraging development and integration amongst local asian women in camden

eductaional courses and resources paid for by camden council

supporting self-sufficiency and city farming projects

all-female run organisation, aiding integration, sport and eductation amongst somali women and children

local community staff, up-keep and running of the centre paid for by income from charges for use of the centre facilities by local community

funding renewable enrgy installations

Power Station participants funding sources, building users and management

tensioned structures, fabrics, frameworks and modular systems The structure should be as lightweight and adaptable as possible to be easily assembled and maintained by the Women

making use of the women’s skills and heritage

bengali weaving patterns

Construction and Structure women to be involved as much as possible in construction

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building extends homes

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ampthill Power Station inter-woven, overlapping programs and spaces