The Utopian Estate. Rethinking council housing utopias by Mariana Balvanera

MAJOR PROJECT CRITICAL APPRAISAL THE UTOPIAN ESTATE Re-Imagining Utopia in Post-War Council Housing

Mariana Martinez Balvanera MA Narrative Environments 2014 Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design

Thanks to: bemerton estate community Bemerton TMO alex scorgie paul shepherd ingrid hu patricia austin my parents collaborators friends you are all actors in the network

Abstract

The Utopian Estate is a series of urban interventions leading from an exploration into post-war housing estates, the ideologies behind and the stories of their contemporary daily life. It is an experiment that intends to reinvent utopian conceptions within the existing building fabrics, with the aim of opposing the demolition of these buildings and consequently avoiding the dispersion of entire communities. Located at the Bemerton Estate in Islington, which has been enveloped by the rapidly expanding area of King’s Cross, the project takes the form of a series of one-day interventions in an abandoned square at the heart of the estate. These interventions respond to the social needs of a weakened community isolated by the surrounding blocks of modernist architecture. The interventions in the square, momentarily called The Bemerton Imaginary Square, outline a blueprint for possible meeting spaces, conceptualised and acted out by residents, which prompt the community to take ownership of their environment and activate its public life. Here, utopia does not depend on architectural structures, but on the social networks and human experiences of the residents of this microcosmic city. Utopia, “a good place in no place”, comes to life through the relationships that arise within public space.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 8 RESEARCH QUESTION 9 CONTEXTUAL REVIEW 9,10 11,12

. The rise and fall of utopia . Two opposite scenarios: Robin Hood Gardens and Bemerton Estate

13 THERORY 13,14 15,16 17,18

. The Utopian Spectrum . Spatial Theory: changing the modernist narratives . Narrative theory: A developing story from within the Bemerton Estate

19 CASE STUDIES: DESIGNING SOCIAL SYSTEMS

METHODOLOGY

21 21 22

.Process to Project . Immersing into estates . Becoming Part and Meeting the Neighbours . First participatory tests . Socio-Spatial Conflicts

23-24 24

Technology and aesthetic grammar: A blueprint for interaction

Collaboration: Co-Creating utopia

project outcome|CONCLUSION

29 30 31-32

. action-reaction . reflections

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APpENDIX

. the future

introduction

This project has been a journey. More than a design process, it has been a personal experiment in which I have immersed myself into issues of social practices, the production of place, new roles of design, community engagement and the fine line between art, design and city-shaping. It is a project that for the past eight months has iterated as many times as the knowledge has grown and as the number of experiences that have been accumulated, a process that is still in exploration. The starting point for this narrative was born from my interest for achieving spatial justice by practices of design. Coming from a metropole so diverse and dynamic as Mexico City, I have been always curious about how cities are shaped by the different living environments that coexist or conflict within urban territories. Furthermore, I wanted to explore how these environments shape us as individuals and communities, through creating or braking social ties. With an idealistic drive to place my design practice within a field that could be beneficial to audiences in areas of conflict, I coincidentally came across a book that articulated my personal reflections about the new role of designers. Teddy Cruz describes it as: When the concentration of resources had been consolidated so dramatically from the many into the very few […] we could not continue perpetuating the notion of a “free imagination”. […] What we need instead is an “urgent imagination”: how to intervene in the gap between the top-down and the bottom-up, while reconnecting art to the drama of the socio-economic and political realities of a world in flux (Cruz, 2012, p.8).

“We can be designers not only of spaces, but of protocols, social relationships or political processes.” -Teddy Cruz

This led me to ponder upon the conflicts and spatial dramas that are particular to the London metropole. Whilst experiencing the city I couldn’t help but notice the divergent scattered landscape, where modernist tower blocks appear secluded from the rest of the urban environment. The project thus emerged out of questioning what role had these housing complexes within the city and how they where experienced by communities within. The project is driven by the next key dramas: 1. Modernist housing estates, built as projects of social regeneration utopias, nowadays face demolition due to a failure to maintain healthy communities within. 2. Isolation and alienation from current residents due to modernist architecture, and the abandon from councils, that lead to a non-inspiring atmosphere of negativity, oblivion and lack of engagement. A vicious circle of marginalization.

before and after: “They’re not very pretty and they have become unfashionable, but they’re structurally sound and functional. Just because they’re a bit grey doesn’t mean people can’t live here happily.” -resident of heygate estate 1.Golden Lane<http://tell.la/view/29483>2. Hackney estate< http://www.tincan.tv/features/lifestyle/351/stories-from-the-streetsof-london/>

3. Although Council Estates where built as “utopic” cities within cities, the utopia nowadays must be redefined, adapting to the new parameters of city living, and most importantly, recognising the human spirit and diversity of residents within. Hence the path that this project has taken can be resumed into two main parts. First, a theoretical exploration into postwar council housing in the contemporary context and re-evaluation of the utopian ideals from which they arose. Second, a human-centred engagement, a social understanding and exploration of the everyday life of the community inhabiting housing blocks, through developing personal ties with residents from the Bemerton Estate.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Can communities residing in isolating post-war council estates today co-create interventions in their environment that shift the negative perception of the place they live in?

CONTEXTUAL REVIEW The rise and fall of utopia Recognizable and outstanding within the London landscape, modernist high rise tower blocks shift the visual composition of the city. Monumental concrete rectangles and repetitive grids of windows pop out incidentally narrating the story of how the city was once shaped by ideals of social regeneration. Today, these high-rise idealist projects are facing what some call a “premeditated slow liquidation”(Sebregondi, 2011, p.8), which after years of oblivion from councils are inevitably being encapsulated by the growing capitalist contemporary city, threatened by demolition. After the second world war, Celement Atlee’s labour government built more than a million council homes replacing those destroyed by the bombings, consequently high-rise blocks arose clearing all run down Victorian slums, giving the working class a standardized living dream. The socio-political context in which modernism emerged gave architects like LeCorbusier the tools to revolutionize the material environment along Marxist lines of social and spatial justice, seeking for an urban utopia progressive towards social emancipation (Benjamin, 2011, p.97). Modernism prioritized the production of housing as projects that would enable the formation of communities, creating layouts that used courtyards and passageways (sometimes known as streets in the sky) as dwelling spaces for social life. Although the modernist utopia was positive and revolutionary in theory, it resulted different in matter, called by the BBC ‘the prefabricated version of utopia’ . Over time, lacking of maintenance, the utopian image transformed into one of decay, violence and failure. This image supported and is still condi-

Abercrombie/Forshaw's London poverty map, before the war in 1943 showing the distribution of slums source: <http://www.utopialondon.com/ southbank/>

CIAM Grid 1953 by Alison and Peter smithson. modernism tools for the standarization of city living source: < http://www.studyblue.com/notes/ note/n/arch-350-exam-2/deck/10185706 >

all those amazing social housing blocks […] incredible socialist architectural projects […] have been privatized. They are transformed from icons of social space to fractured symbols of the private sphere -Doreen Massey

tioned by a narrative subordinate to a financial scheme that favours the potential profit of an area over spatial justice. Consequently many housing estates have been bulldozed during the past years, leading to the displacement of entire communities. An example is the renowned case of the Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle whose demolition displaced more than 3,000 people. More recently, the nearto-be demolished Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar, is facing demolition in 2015, even after a long battle for listing fought by C20 architecture association. The battle, successfully drew attention from the media, but failed to get any attention from the council. Robin Hood Gardens is now a “failed utopia’, as often referred to in the media, that reinforces a housing crisis in London. With these issues in stake then, the project asks: What are the conditions of transformation of the built environment, beyond its mere regeneration? ”(Sebregondi, 2011, p.8) How can design and narrative open a field to re-think the already existing building fabric of estates? What is the utopia today and how can we as practitioners involve communities in the making and reshaping of it? Here, a journey begins.

CONTEXTUAL REVIEW Two opposite scenarios: Robin Hood Gardens and Bemerton Estate This project makes a comparison between two extreme situations in council housing today. It is an immersive and performative investigation into Robin Hood Gardens in Poplar and Bemerton Villages in Islington. First off a ‘failed utopia’, Robin Hood Gardens, intended to revolutionize the conception of housing in the architectural scenario through 1970’s brutalist complex by architecture duo the Smithsons. It has gone through a long and painful process of decay leading to a total transformation. This transformation will not only produce a negative environmental impact, but also will disperse the community that has inhabited the building for generations, ceasing the resident’s right to be council tenants in the long run. The council has failed to provide a platform for dialogue with the community, and has masqueraded the resident’s opinions in faulty polls and excuses that are not entirely arguable (Powers, 2010, p.24) (Image, RBHG revisions photo).

‘Demolished buildings may make financial sense, but adaptation is the sustainable option’ -Paul Finch. Architects Journal, 10 September 2009

It was designed with a clever architectural plan and programme that encouraged a sense of community, using the streets in the sky as a common place to interact. Nevertheless, the lack of organization and management of the community within, left them powerless to act against complete regeneration. Opposite to this scenario, a council on the rise, is the Bemerton Estate, now called Bemerton Villages. Once one of the most deprived and violent estates in London (The Guardian, Jun. 2011), now stands in a more positive position, after fighting back demolition in 2010 through a bottom up process led by the community. The Tenant Management Organization

Robin hood gardens famous for its streets in the sky projected to bring communities together. source: mariana mb

(TMO), formed during the bulldozing crisis, has managed to autonomize from the council, taking on almost full management of the estate. In the past ten years criminality rates have lowered considerably and maintenance has kept the 1970’s building in a good condition. It has prevented inmediate regeneration, while the King’s cross area around it is fastly growing. In the past ten years criminality rates have lowered considerably and maintenance has kept the 1970’s building in a good, preventing momentarily regeneration, while the area around King’s Cross is rapidly growing. Presently, the estate faces challenges of modernization, trying to keep up with the new dynamics happening in the surroundings. The TMO and rest of the community have to work hard to maintain their presence and portray a healthy image to move forward with the rest of the area.

Bemerton estate built in the 1970’s is configured around a set of internal patios, or squares, that are meant to activate public life. source: 1.mariana mb 1. mariana mb

THEORY The utopian spectrum The Utopian Estate, as the title suggests, is driven by the socio-political narrative of the rise and fall of urban utopian ideals of modernism. This project asks, Is the Utopian vision really hopeless and unachievable? (Surtz, 1964, p.11) To understand how the Utopian construction has shaped the narrative of this project we first have to understand it as a term and within a spectrum. Utopia, linguistically defined as A good place in no place (More, 1516, p.10); in this project is seek not as the perfect world portrayed by More, but as the exploration of human possibilities (Lefebvre, 1961, p.105) that provokes and aspires to a happier way of life. Whilst Utopia, may be neither attainable nor desirable, a more independent network of ‘micro-utopias’ (brief and local utopias) might be both helpful and feasible to attack issues in our contemporary cities (Wood, 2007, p. 37). With this project I intend to move away from the romantic representation of perfect worlds, and rather immerse within the real and search, along with real people, how different ways of living and modes of action, could shape the existing environment.

‘A map of the world that does not i nclude Utopia is not even worth glancing at’ - Oscar Wilde

yona friedman: working collectively everybody can achieve a small utopia source: Yonna Friedman.Les Utopies Realisables.

THEORY Spatial theory: changing the modernist narratives Immersing into the Bemerton Estate, and previously at Robin Hood Gardens, I experienced directly how the spatial narratives of modernism can affect ones mood. It embodies what Gaston Bachelard has shown, personal and collective imagination is necessarily localized and embodied within the immediate built environment (Bachelard 1994). There is a clear link to how these places, being so oppressive, can echo aggressive that later create ruptures between communities. If the environment is of an alienating nature, our behaviours become alienating as well. As Merleau-Ponty states remaking contact with the body and with the world, we shall rediscover our self (Meleau-Ponty, 1945, p.239), meaning that we embody our surroundings reflecting them upon our own selves. The repetition and standardization of the living spaces that are experienced within council estates, is bound to make inhabitants estranged, as the concrete landscape lacks traces of naturality, personality, and even a human spirit. If the environment, in which one is tied to and identified with, tends to be negative and aggressive, how can one counter these effects and create a happier more positive perception of the ‘Dasein’ (Heidegger, 1962)? The interventions, that appeared temporarily in the abandoned square, the Bemerton Imaginary Square, power a process of place making (from non-place to place) in which the interrelationships constituted of interactions (Massey, 2005, p.10) shape space and identity. Here space plays an important role in the shaping of the community and the community members co-produce of space.

‘If a place can be defined as relational, historical and concerned with identity, then a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-place. ‘ source: mmb

The Bemerton community members, then, are subject to the socio-spatial relations that develop everyday around the estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grounds that can be improved not only by focusing in the building fabric, but also in the interactions that happen within. The events that temporarily unfold in the square are an emphasis on the human qualities of space and inject a narrative world that inspire a set of new spatial interrelations. The hope is that improving small scale human experiences can diminish the negative stamp of the environment through time.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;places want to be - people want them to be - places of identity, of relations and of history.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

source: soumya basnet

THEORY Narrative theory: A developing story from within the Bemerton Estate The narrative of this project has developed through the process of this project. Like the Meta-Narrative, that is present and understood by implication […] it was generated by culturally shared signs and knowledge (MANE thesaurus, 2014a) with the neighbours of the Bemerton Estate. The characters (residents) and their aspirations for social interaction have been the main drive for the author (me) to create a temporary set of stories within the abandoned square. The square, while inactive, is one more of the alienating surroundings in the estate, quiet and menacing. The interventions, brought by an agent (me), create a mimesis of possible social spaces into the public environment, and develop a digesis that opens up the possibility of social intrisce (Borriaud, 1998, p.16). The Mimêsis involves a framing of reality that announces that what is contained within the frame is not simply real (Davis, 1993, p.3). It introduces the blueprints and objects (agents) that show extraordinarily four different places for interaction, that add a second layer to the existing actively altering the environment. The spatial installations seek to establish inter-subjective encounters, that are beholden to the contingencies of its environment and audience (Bishop, 2003, p.18). The audience, characters, and community, are addressed as a whole and brought in together by the spatial agencies. The ‘possible spaces’ come alive when the community acts out the interactions, constructing new social relationships. These interventions, events, outline physically the intended micro-utopia, creating a Heterotopia that mirrors the desired world, materialized by the linemarkings that intervene in the

THE PLAN: speculating source: 1.render coffee shop 2. render flower garden 3. render cinema

space. The four single narratives that unfold through time, each one played consecutively every Saturday in April, juxtapose in a single real place several places, several sites that are foreign to one and other (Foucault, 1967, p.7) and accumulate through time a story that injects possibility and mobility of the community. The repetition of intervention is aimed to create a Metalepsis in which the naratee, this case the neighbour, moves from the extradigetic to the intradigetic position and vice versa (MANE thesaurus, 2014b). There is a flow from the participant, or potential character, goes from the extradiagetic world to inside the digesis where they become active participants or naratees of the events happening. Further on, when they leave the digetic world, the story stays with them, as they bring out with them elements of the story into the real, allowing them to remember the experience and share it with non-characters. Through this reiterative process I hope to plant a seed that would inspire the residents to re-enact these situations by themselves in the future.

the interventions: on site source: 1.coffee shop 2. digesis 3. game space. mmb

CASE STUDIES: Designing social systems It is inspiring to find that the practice of community design has been in boom since the last decade, in which designers acknowledge the responsibilities of producing in a world that is packed with social and spatial conflicts. These practices challenge collective imagination and help in the production of new dispositions (Julier, 2008, p.42) working on not only on the physical outcomes, but also on the building of communities and sense of locality. Through this perspective, design reconnects people, institutions and place with situations that shape our every day narratives. I have looked at three examples that have helped me shape this project. These are explorations of the concepts of engagement, collective participation, empowering of locals, urban play, bottom up urbanism and creative public consultation. The Emma Generator (2011-2013) by Raumlabor Berlin, uses the element of agency to bring communities together through a laboratory of participatory workshops. The agent, a train-like structure performs activities such as cinema, concerts, games and cooking. What this structure asserts to do is to create a common temporary platform for social spaces, as an initial point where a thorough examination of the relationships between the individual, the group and the place of interaction is undertaken (Raumlabor, 2011). This is an essential process that drives my project, as a way, of an exploration of the relationships between the community members towards the definition of a group through the four events. However, Emma Generator, relies on the potential of an external material agency rather than on the site-specific resources, leading to a very temporary process of engagement. By co-creating the interventions at the Bemerton

emma: a platform for interaction source: 1. & 2. < http://raumlabor.net/ emmas-hoftour-2/>

Imaginary Square with locals and local resources, I have made sure that the community became active participants of the process of production, creating a one to one engagement level that builds ties. In this line, I intended to create a particular constellation of social relations, meeting and weaving together at a particular locus (Massey, 1991, p.167) that originates from within the Bemerton Estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grounds to the estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public life. What a second case study, Clear Village, has managed to do so through setting up Workshop 44 (2011), a space in the Regent Estate in Hackney that serves as a focal point for the local community to hold cultural and social activities.

workshop44: empowering communities source: 1. & 2. <http://workshop44.tumblr. com/>

OSA: Urban play and intervention source: 1. & 2. < http://osa-online.net/de/ flavours/strange/plan06/anwopark/index. htm>

This project aspires to create the sort of relationships Workshop 44 has developed. In this case, creatives (students from CSM), locals and institutions of the area could contribute in the shaping of a community, adding new layers of meaning to a neglected space in a difficult area. Practitioners and individuals that gave live to The League of Creative Interventionist (collective operating in cities since 2013), have emphasized the importance of play within the urban environment, as it pushes citizens to experience their surroundings differently. With projects like Anwoherpark (2012) from OSA, urban interventions can create shared experiences in public space that break down social barriers and catalyze connections between people and communities (Hunter, 2013). Accordingly, interventions appearing in Bermetonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s square add a meaning of playfulness and informality to a space so restricted. The constructions of situations were conceived in the line of the situationists in the way that they deliberately constructed for the purpose of reawakening and pursuing authentic desires, experiencing the feeling of life and adventure, and the liberation of everyday life (Debord, 1958).

METHODOLOGY Process to Project This project developed through a series of chronological exploratory processes in which I immersed completely into my subject knowledge to have a better understanding of the existing dynamics and potentials. I consider this project to be more of a process of iterations than a scheme with clear objectives and expected answers. The process has been marked by a series of actions and derives followed by reflections and iterations. It has lead me through a journey from presumptions and personal ambitions to grounded insights for the formulation of a project.

Immersing into estates I started off by a broad research on council estate and the housing crisis in London. I explored the origin, ideologies behind, the architectural dream, the current situation, the residents experience within, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consequences on communities. This helped me shape an ideological and political framework. I therefore questioned how design social dynamics could be used to to inspire residents living in council estates towards a more positive experience within their living environment. I localized a main key drama linked to the meta-narrative of the dispersion of communities due to demolition. I came across Robin Hood Gardens via blogs and online discussion, that addressed the socio-political situation of council estates. Through these blogs I set the foundations for an understanding of the site that were followed by regular visits to the estate grounds. Such visits were intimidating due to the scale of the buildings and the gloomy atmosphere communicated through the cracks in the structure. I was aware that I had to

working from within the estate source:mmb

find a way to approach and immerse myself into the community. To develop a project that would be significant and have a real positive impact to the inhabitants of the estate, I understood that I needed to gain trust of the community to work and co-create with them a final outcome. This focus proved pivotal in the methodology of the project. Soon I encountered the first constraint as a result of a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances (Debord, 1958), observations and actions that lead me to an important first iteration. I realized that my aspirations and aesthetic appeal with modernist architecture had lead me to aspire to a project within a delicate community in which I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t intervene. I understood that some spatial territories are better left to the people they belong to, as an external agent might be too invasive. Consequently came the change of site.

Becoming Part and Meeting the Neighbours

introduction to the community. appearing in the bemerton newsletter and making friends with local shop owners source: mmb

As soon as I arrived to Bemerton Estate and talked about my project, I could feel that the situation there was completely opposite to the one in Robin Hood Gardens. The managers from the estate encouraged me to develop the project from within the site itself, lending me a space at the newly built art studios and introducing me to the community through the monthly newsletter. I began a process of ethnographic research, dedicating my time to attain residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trust, a gradual process of social bonding. To inquire about the values and aspirations of the residents, I started to frequent meetings that different groups held in the estate. These included the library group, composed of elder women that met for informal tea and cookies at the community centre every Friday.

METHODOLOGY The relationships built with time with these women and other residents I came in contact with. These key residents through time where essential for the development of the final outcome of the project. Only through dialogue could I engage with what they aspired to and co-create this project along with them. I finally involved them in the making and organizing of the different interventions.

First participatory tests One of the central problems the estate now faces is the lack of engagement and interest from the residents into social activities and political life. Most residents are isolated and scared to participate in the making of their estate. Through action research, I tested out the participation levels of the community members, seeking for the project to involve active participation and collective making. The first test, Knit the Grid, invited residents to create a collective knitting artwork in a metal grid that is part of the Faรงade, to test for the possibility to create material interventions. The experiment proved that residents where uninterested and disengaged with art practices and interventions. Never the less, this action started conversations with some of the neighbours about their living situation in the estate. A second test, Re-Imagine the estate, was a game set up during an event in the art studios. Participants were asked to visually alter the faรงade and grounds of the estate by adding the silhouette of sketched different elements using an overhead projector. This was a first step of a program that looked into the past, present and future of the estate, to create a new utopian image. It was based on the Dialectical Image in which

engagement tests and iterations source:mmb

the merging of a past image with one of the present and future, would generate a new image (Benjamin, 1941). This process created a kind of creative consultation in which residents portrayed their aspirations for the perfect estate. The activity was not successful as a very few residents attended the event and the programme was not promoted enough. The project was altered once more, as I realized that I could not rely on the commitment and engagement of my audience. Further insights from this experience where that residents where not particularly attracted by art projects, therefore, not attending any creative activities. This lead me to develop a final test in the art studio space, in which I invited residents over for a Movie night, to evaluate the popularity of the art studios and whether residents felt connected to this space. The response was null, as none of the residents I personally invited at their doors attended. After this, I re-evaluated the site I was working on, and I decided to iterate once again, taking the project into the inner grounds of the estate.

Socio-Spatial Conflicts art studios. not really popular source:mmb

An analysis of the social and spatial conflicts and dramas had to be made in order to better understand the nature of the site. These dramas became clearer later on, whilst in a workshop imparted by Teddy Cruz organized by the Spatial Practices programme. Along with architecture students we could map out the different factors that where causing the lack of engagement from residents.

METHODOLOGY First of all, the creation of the TMO, although beneficial in many ways, has centralized the decision making power to a small group of residents that are seemingly detached from the rest of the community, producing uncertainty and lack of trust. This reflects into the spatial configuration of community services and on how they are managed. Although services are meant to activate the area and the community within, the majority of them are located outside the â&#x20AC;&#x153;villageâ&#x20AC;?, making them more attractive and visible to external neighbours than to the inhabitants of the estate. The community hubs are successful in bringing monetary resources but lack to bring community cohesion. I, therefore, came to the conclusion, after conversations with neighbours and the help from community organizer Jenniffer Kent, that there was a need for central spaces that served the function of interaction.

Charts produced during teddy cruzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop pointing out 3 key conflicts: 1.the bureucratization of social proecesses 2. descentralization of community dweling spaces 3. scattered forms of social organization

source:federica mandelli and mariana martinez

Technology and aesthetic grammar: A blueprint for interaction The architectural language of blueprints where used as a medium to alter the building fabric, and to communicate the potential space that could be materialized into the empty square. The spatial blueprints, inspired by Lars Von Trier’s ‘Dogville’, in which the outlines of an invisible set of relations (Latour, 2005) intend to frame the activities that the characters are playing in the space and the relationships that are being formed, rather than to the physical surroundings. The blueprints where drawn out in gaffer tape, material that resulted effective in terms of temporality, as the interventions appeared only for a few hours as a line of provocations. Along with the lines a typographic sign hung from the fence whenever the square became active, children took part in the making and designing of the space with chalk and the tape, establishing inter-subjective encounters in which meaning is elaborated collectively (Borriaud, 2002, p. 18).

blueprint intervention and flyer. source:1.mmb 2.kiki ljung

kit of parts. appropriation step by step. source:mmb

The colour scheme and graphic language used for the posters and invitations, commissioned to illustrator Caterina Ljung, mirrored the colour palette of the estate and the functionalist aesthetic of way finding signages above the blocks, but were slightly more whimsical and humoured in order to break the coldness of the existing. With this same spirit the lines where drawn into the square emulating spaces from around the King’s Cross area. A set of cards and accordion for an appropriation kit was designed, the intends to be handed over to the TMO for residents to make us of it. This is still a prototype that must be developed further. The language used is informal and somewhat architectural, but with very accessible and illustrative elements.

Collaboration: Co Creating utopia The procedure that this project went through was fed by the ideas and collaboration of a group of designers, and adult and children residents of the estate. The collaborations that appeared in an organic way along the process, have taught me that a project can be communicated and portrayed differently depending on the collaborators. Weekly meetings with content design collaborators helped to shape the project, as we reflected upon issues of social design, co-creation, community, collective making, and other relevant themes. We brainstormed about each of our projects and shared our experiences. The work with graphic designers and illustrators enriched the project in the communication aspect. The printed media used for communication with residents and in parallel for the final accordions was designed by two collaborators. Working with deadlines through online resources resulted effective for negotiations throughout the creative process. Through meetings we could work our way to creating an image that both suited and communicated to the audience the project. One of the most important collaborators was the TMO, who supported the project from day one at the Bemerton Estate and who eventually funded the four interventions. They acted as clients but also as co-creators in a way that was given total freedom to develop a unique project whilst inputting comments and ideas. Also, they provided services that facilitated the project like space, printing, budget, flyering and communication and helped me have wider outreach. Before and during the interventions involvement with the residents was critical. Each week, I collaborated with one or two

collaborating at the art studios and with residents source:mmb

residents in the planning and execution of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;one day spacesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, giving them co-authorship of the narratives unfolding in space . Working closely with these four residents created deeper bonds that allowed the project to become more relevant to the community. During informal visits to their homes, we brainstormed and planned the different interventions.

interventions co-created with kids from the estate source:mmb

outcomes and CONCLUSIONs Action-Reaction The ideas, insights and procedures generated through the process of this project could be adapted by other practitioners to fit council estates elsewhere. I concluded, through observations during the four interventions, that social mobility is much needed and appreciated within these static public environments. The involvement and trust in the community is essential to achieve this, and it must be acted out as a gradual process of co-creation. The interventions that resulted the most successful (the cafĂŠ place and games day), turned out to be both of a social nature. These momentary spaces enabled exchange through either dialogue or activity, through play barriers where diminished. The level of engagement through the developing of the four interventions grew with the repetition, as residents began to recognize the square, the activities and myself. Throughout the process I have shaped and answered my original research question, but I believe that a real answer to the question could only be evaluated through time, finding out that Utopia [..] is an open ended work- or better, a dialogue with an indeterminate close (Surtz, 1964, p.11) as change in such difficult environment can only be gradual. I have seen though, within the months spent at Bemerton and throughout the four interventions played, that there is a potential for a new utopian living that can be achieved through repetition and a constant change of programmes that enable mobility to the community.

I can evaluate the success of my project by the positive reactions all the participants communicated through words to me during the events, and the willingness many of the residents had to continue the project. To further facilitate future processes an appropriation kit was designed to communicate step by step how to bring public spaces in the estate to life.

REFLECTIONS The design element of the project did not reach my expectations, as I lacked time to develop a convincing and professional aesthetic for the installations due to the amount of time dedicated to social research and organization matters. I now believe that this could have been avoided by creating a consistent collaboration team to divide tasks when it came to the making of the different installations. As well, the way that the project developed, suffering from several iterations, was an impediment to plan and test a consistent designed outcome. This has taught me that decisions have to be made strong and quickly for a design project to be successful and professional. In terms of methodology, my immersive and ethnological based process has downsized important design and narrative elements in the project. In hindsight I would begin my project more strategically and structured and keep focus on a framework, instead of deriving and being intuitive to any impulse I encountered. Starting off from a small scaled project and defining a clear focus from the beginning could have helped me to shape a more powerful and personally satisfying outcome without having to encounter as many difficulties as I did by aiming for the impossible.

CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A NEW UTOPIA THE FUTURE Although at the beginning I faced many difficulties and failures, I now feel satisfied with what the line provocations have managed to detonate. The TMO has offered a paid opportunity to take over a central space and convert it into a social and cultural lab that can enable the project to keep developing, involving as well interested residents and students from the university. This plan is also relevant to the analytic conclusion of the Teddy Cruz workshop, in which the participants proposed a Bemerton-CSM Lab in the centre of the estate that can enable a platform for dialogue and social exchange. Over the summer, this potential collaboration project will be discussed to hopefully move it forward. The process I experienced has challenged the perceptions I have of myself as a designer and helped me to evaluate personal skills that are imperative in community projects. I have come to the conclusion that social design is a challenge that has to be worked along experts, like community organizers, and a big group of collaborators to be effective globally. This project has helped me develop organizational skills and software social skills like communication, elements that are important if I wish to continue a career in the public sector. As a designer and person, I find satisfaction through having positive impact in different groups of audiences, I have learned that the designer can play the role of a mediator that connects different stakeholders through a set of actions. I gradually achieved this on a micro scale when communicating and connecting with the different actors, understanding their individual needs and interpreting them within my project aims.

Hopefully in the future, while pusrsuing a career in community projects I can develop further my creative and artistic potential, as this project has taken me through an initial threshold that can only give me strength to approach future projects.

BIbliography Books Abbot, P. (2002) The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge: Cambridge Press) Awan, N., Schneider, T, Till, J. Ed. (2011) Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture (Oxon: Routledge) Bell, B. (2008) Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism (NY: Metropolis) Blundell, P., Petrescu, D., Till, J, Ed. (2005) Architecture and Participation (London: Spoon Press) Bullman, J., Hearty, N., Hill, B. (2013) The Secret History of Our Streets. Caledonian Road (London: BBC Books) Bourriaud, N. (1998), Relational Aesthetics (Paris: Les Presses Du Réel) Bossman, J. (2005) Team 10 1953-81 : in Search of a Utopia of the Present (NY: NAI Publishers) De Botton, A. (2006) The Architecture of Happiness (London: Penguin Books) Debord, G. (1958) Definitions. Internationale Situationniste #1 (Paris: Librairie Artheme Fayard) Elliot, B. (2011) Benjamin for Architects (NY: Routledge Publishers) Friedman, Y. (2000) Les Utopies Realisables (Paris: L’éclat) Goodwin, B. Ed (2001) The Philosophy of Utopia (London:

Frank Cass) Hanley, L. (2007) Estates: An Intimate History (London: Granta Publications) Julier, G. (2008) The culture of design, 2nd ed. (London: SAGE Publications Ltd.) Lefebvre, H. (1974), The Production of Space (Malden, Oxford, Carlton: Blackwell Publishing) Lawrence-Zu単iga, D. (2003) The Anthropology of Space and Place (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers) Massey, D. (2005) For Space (London: Frank Cass) Mc. Donough, E. (2009) The Situationists and the City (NY: Verso Books) Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945) Phenomenology of Perception (Paris: Gallimard) More, T. (1966) Utopia, (New Haven: Yale University Press) Philips, A. and Erdemci, F. Ed. (2012) Social Housing-Housing the Social: Art, Property and Spatial Justice, (Amsterdam: SKOR Publishers) Powers, A. Ed. (2010) Robin Hood Gardens Re-visions, (London: C20) Ravetz, A. (2001) Council Housing and Culture (Oxon: Routledge)

Szurtz, E. (1964) Utopia, with an introduction and notes, (New Haven: Yale University Pres) Shea, A. (1977) Designing for Social Change (NY: Princeton Architectural Press) Till, J. (2009) Architectutre Depends (Cambridge: MIT Press) Wernick, J and RIBA Building Futures Ed. (2008) Building Happiness: Architecture to make you smile (London: Black Dog) Wood, J. (2007) Design for Microutopias: Making the Unthinkable Possible (Aldershot: Gower)

Web Sources Bemerton Villages < http://bemerton.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/bemerton-chairmans-report/> Bemerton Estate < http://somewherestories.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/aday-at-bemerton-village/> Berg, N â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Official Guide to Tactical Urbanismâ&#x20AC;?. The Atlantic Cities: Place matters <http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/03/ guide-tactical-urbanism/1387/> Candy Chang <http://candychang.com>

Daily Tous les jours <http://www.dailytouslesjours.com> Debord, G. Preliminary Problems in Constructing a Situationâ&#x20AC;? <http://www.cddc.vt.edu/ sionline/si/problems.html> Hobson, N. Enter the pop-up agency conceptâ&#x20AC;?. Nevillehobson.com <http://www. nevillehobson.com/2013/02/28/enter-the-popup-agency-concept/> Improv Everywhere <http://improveverywhere.com> Islington Council Fairness Comision Wealth Gap <http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jun/08/islington-council-fairness-commission-wealth-gap> League of Creative Interventionists <http://www.creativeinterventionists.com/> MANE thesaurus (2013a) <http://thesaurus.kosawese.net/index.php/term/view/Mimesis> MANE thesaurus (2013b) <http://thesaurus.kosawese.net/index.php/term/updateview/Meta%20 Narrative/Narratology> Doreen Massey, The Future of Landscape <http://thefutureoflandscape.wordpress.com/landscapespacepolitics-an-essay/>

Hornsby, R. What Heidegger means by being in the World <http://royby.com/philosophy/pages/dasein.html> Urbanist Bottom Up Planning <http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2010/02/emergent-urbanism-or-bottomup-planning.html> Participatory Art <http://www.urbanista.org/issues/local-eyes/features/partizaning-participatory-art-research-and-creative-urban-activism> Raumlabor Berlin < http://raumlabor.net/> Robin Hood Gardens Remodeled < http://cracpreservation.wordpress.com/category/alexsposts/case-study-01-robin-hood-gardens/> Workshop 44 <http://workshop44.tumblr.com/> Articles Sebregondi, F. (2011) The Event of Void: Architecture and Politics in the Evacuated Heygate Estate, (London: Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths) Powers, A. Ed. (2010) Robin Hood Gardens Re-visions, (London: C20) Foucault, M. (1967) Of Other Spaces. Heterotopias (Paris: Architecture/movement/continuite) Massey, D. (1991) A global sense of place - 1991. In C. Doherty, ed. (London: Whitechapel Gallery)

Video Les Visionaires, Une Autre Histoire de L’archittecture (2013) Directed by Julien Donada. Paris: Petite à Petite. [Video DVD] The Great Estate: The Rise and Fall of the Council House (2011) Directed by Chris Willson for BBC4 UK [TV Documentary] The Secret History of Our Streets: Caledonian Road (2012) Produced by Joseph Bullman for BBC 2 UK [TV Documentary] The Smithsons On Housing (1970) Produced by B.S. Jhonson for BBC 2 UK [TV Documentary] The Culture Show: Building Blocks of Architecture (2014) Directed by Jude Ho for BBC Two. [TV Documentary]

APPENDIX

THE UTOPIAN ESTATE A PLATFORM FOR LOCAL UTOPIAS

Throughout the process of this project I have learned an immense amount of things about my professional skills and myself. It has been a process of reflection along the whole year that has lead me to substantial conclusions about my strengths and weaknesses and how these qualities can affect my future professional development within the scope of social design. The way that I lived this project has challenged how I see myself as a designer and as a person and how I unfold with other professionals and in the world. Through the braking of preconceptions I discovered ways to have a clearer understanding of cultural and ethical issues. I have gone in a journey from â&#x20AC;&#x153;utopiaâ&#x20AC;? to reality that has helped me evaluate the factors in stake that makes a project realistic and grounded. This project has given me the opportunity to work with a range of very different people to whom I had to communicate in completely different ways. Within this scope, I have earned skills in how to be professional, academic, architectural, social, friendly, pedagogical, while being empathic with others and at the same time being confident about myself.

Appendix

Critical. Analytical. Negotiation. Brief

Before entering this project I had worked with briefs for different kinds of projects, although never written a brief for myself. By doing so I have discovered that it is important to have a general understanding of a subject and critical view on it beforehand, this will put on the table intriguing and challenging questions that can lead to interesting results. It is important to keep wider speculative issues but also to be specific about what the project needs to achieve in order to avoid confusion and dispersion. The creation of the brief requires one to be assertive in asking the right questions, I found it somewhat difficult to find the focus of my questions, as I was asking many different ones that

then led to confusion while developing the project. Never the less, I managed to intuitively grasp a subject that causes many debates and interest to other people and myself. Although the initial brief came from myself, when I got to work with the managers of the Bemerton Estate, Alex Scorgie and Paul Shepherd, the brief had to be adapted to their own expectations and demands for my project. Through meeting, we negotiated what the two parties wanted to achieve in order to define a clearer brief.

Challenging. Determined. Strong willed. Research one

Appendix

When researching the subject knowledge I encountered many times that my intuition helped me to go deeper into information that made sense for the project. I read books that informed me of projects I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard before; I enjoyed gathering knowledge of all the scope of things that the project encompassed. Before the project I had done research in a very traditional way, rather superficial. By doing this project I felt personally satisfied to have a critical understanding of the context. Something that was the one the most important aspects of the stage of investigation was the immersive anthropological research that happened when I entered the Bemerton Estate community. This type of research I had never taken into consideration through any of my past projects, but for this one it proved pivotal as the understanding of the community was one of my main aims to continue with a design direction. This experience was immensely useful to my developing carreer as learned from it personal and professional skills used when working in social projects. For example, it broke many of my personal and cultural barriers, like fear of being a stranger, and gave me more confidence to start conversations. I realized what worked and what didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t when it came to approach people with personal questions in order to get the answers

that will move the project forward. Determination was always a constant through this projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research stage, as I often felt that the process was moving slower than I wished. Although only through time I could realize that it is important to try many times, to be constant and to be secure in actions and attitude to consolidate relationships.

Critical. Assertive. Intuitive. Research two, analysis The analysis in this project evolved through a very long period of time, as the research face went on for more time than expected. To really formulate key insights I felt that I had to really get to know the community and their aspirations, this took me time and patient. But when it came to being critical with the information gathered and the observations made through derive and action research, I usually was assertive and driven by the whole context. This helped me take important decisions that made my project iterate dramatically, that in the end proved very successful. I believe that I had beforehand a very strong sense of analysis, although, in this project I confronted difficulties as I saw that the analysis I made at the beginning where not taking me to any concrete design direction. Only until I had spent enough time within the estate I could make clear key insights about the socio-spatial conflicts that where in conflict. These insights that came rather intuitively, but also based in allot of investigation, gave the foundations for a realistic project that in the end turned out to be fairly successful.

Appendix

Empathic. Spatially aware. Critical. Design criteria:

In this project the design direction changed as many times as weeks passed by. One of the main reasons was the lack of self-confidence that lead me to change my mind every time I communicated my idea to a third party. Also, I went through

many indecisions to where I wanted to take this project. From more artistic interventions, spatial installations, documentaries, publications, crazy faรงade art, workshops schemes, guerrilla tactics to events I went through many ideas that where sometimes not as realistic and too big to handle. I had at first a very perplexed vision of how the project had to move forward. In the end the direction that I took to intervene the central square came from a drive that seeked to fulfil my spatial-designer needs whilst being empathic with the community and their needs. I have learned that whilst community projects are socially and personally fulfilling, they are a difficult terrain to develop creative more plastic skills, as there is a need to give priority to social norms and the design of interrelations, more than to physical end products. This helped me to develop a more personal and caring skill to approach design, rather than giving complete authorship and free imagination to the designer.

Critical. Collaborative. Reflective Narrative: Developing the narrative for this project was a process of dialogue and collaboration between content development collaborators, residents and managers of the estate. The narrative originated from dialogues and negotiations with different actors, but mainly conceptualized in conversations with Marie James and Federica Mandelli. The story that conveys the whole project was of a critical nature and derived from the developing experience from within the council estate, fed by the desk research done at the beginning of the project. I had to be assertive in how to convey a language that would encourage residents to take part and appropriate the project, so this narrative also was born from the conception of a social and anthropological understanding. Appendix

Analytical. Challenging. Professional User experience: The way that the user experience was designed in this project was fairly different from other projects developed during the course. The user experience used for the four events, was developed from a general perspective to a smaller scale. I intended that each intervention would in a way provoke certain needs and reactions from residents, so that they became aware that they could utilise the public spaces. Through the collaborative work with Jenny Kent, we realised that many of the residents needed spaces for informal interaction. Later on I designed the interventions inspired by what residents had communicated to Jenny, based on social, green, cultural and activity. Negotiations with the managers of the estate made the project feasible, process that developed my professional skills. I had to present the project in different occasions to the TMO and other parties to promote and ask for funding. The user experience was then negotiated with all the collaborators, brought together by my ideas and expertise in experience design.

Appendix

Organized. Negotiation. Technical. Detailed design:

The detailing of the design required to use skills that I usually use as an architect, measuring of the site, use of CAD software and having a knowledge of materials accessible in the area. Also, I created a look and feel based on image research, adding a particular attention to detail when it came to the objects and aesthetics used for each of the interventions. I briefed an illustrator that would communicate this aesthetic language through illustrations used in the flyers that would engage the residents. This project required many organizational and managing skills, that where not really my most strong assets, but that where developed and perfectioned with time in the estate. I made

charts and calendars to organize everything needed for the four interventions, planning in advance every element and collaboration. Like this, afterwards, I could communicate to the residents that collaborated with me in each intervention making the co-creation process more effective.

Attention to detail. Awareness of materials and technologies. Collaborative. Production: Collaboration was one of the main things that happened throughout the process of production. The making connected people together, and from day one, when I started to put up the interventions, there where already 5 kids helping me carry things, create the outlines, personalize the boards I had designed etc. I have always enjoyed sourcing materials, as it is an opportunity to explore shops, take decisions in-situ and be creative with the resources that are already there. This process requires allot of intuition and fast desition making. When it came to the making, I was able to organize and direct different people, from kids, to colleagues, and residents that where all helping in the production. This process I enjoyed as it brought me closer to the community.

Critical. Collaborative. Analytical. Evaluation criteria:

Appendix

Through the four interventions I could observe the reactions of people visiting the imaginary square. I asked collaborators to help me evaluate the events from a objective perspective, later on I analysed the comments and data to fill reports on each event. These reports I handed to Bemerton managers, information that was useful for them for further social engagement developments. I believe that this project has been successful thanks to my drive and dedication, I often found myself tired and defeated, but I was always very dedicated to the cause. I have learned

that by being dedicated and giving in your most energy, people start trusting you. Like this I managed to get the Bemerton community trust and was asked for a payed position, which shows that I have achieved a project to a professional level that can be carried on further. A set of personal and professional obstacles to overcome.

Unclear vision. Quite a complex project and theme as I personally feel I have difficulties when it comes to decision making and sticking to one thing only. I encompassed too many subjects at once, which makes it hard to communicate. I always encounter myself telling a long description and story to get to the point of the project itself, situation that is not favourable, because most of the times I get tangled in my own words. I believe this is a product of my lack of concentration, as I encounter very often in my life situations in which I am doing many things at the same time, that lead to nothing. And also, a lack of decision making skills, as I tend to shift from one idea to another constantly.

Appendix

In this project, this quality affected two main things: in the conceptualization of the project and in the choosing of a design direction. Firstly, when I started to write the biref, and further on when I developed the drive for my project, I focused too much in too big subjects that I didn’t foresee would affect in the long run. Choosing “Utopias”, modernism, community and displacement as subjects all in one made my range of investigation very wide, and sometimes felt unattainable. Also, fantasizing about “utopic” scenarios, either artistic or social, didn’t help keep my focus by the time I had to develop a design direction.

Consequently it was difficult to find a suitable design direction that would encompass and communicate clearly what I want-

ed to achieve (thing that was not really clear anyway because of the same problem). The project iterated many times, and ideas changed somewhat randomly throughout the process. By the time I had made a clear decision, it was too late to focus into the designed outcome leading to a poorly professional design outcome. In the future I have to stay focused in more simple and clear ideas, as this will help me explore better and deeper to get to a clearer result. This can be done by delimiting general concepts and focusing in more simple and grounded points. Of course there will always exist a general wider context, but to keep a project clear it is important to be concise about specificities. Another thing that I realized is that when I work with more decisive people I am more convinced of the decisions I am making. This might come from a personal lack of trust, but that can be fixed by, beforehand entering any large scale project, working with one or two main collaborators that can help consolidate the ideas and direction of the project.

Shyness.

Appendix

Wish I had kept contact with my mentor, but I was to shy to show my progress as the project was too different from what I knew they where doing at Universal. I regret this shyness as I think I could have gotten many inspiration and more concrete design direction through chats with a professional. Although I do feel I made somewhat a good decision not to involve him in the process, as I was looking for a social project that would push my barriers as a designer, to explore new ways of working (mostly with communities). I feel that if I had gone to him, I would have done a more commercial or exhibition driven project that would have distracted me from my initial aspiration.

This lack of confidence was very difficult to overcome at the beginning of the project, as I was afraid to talk to people in Robin Hood Gardens and then approached the community of Bemerton in a silent, very careful manner. This held me back from withdrawing insights quickly and strongly. I now understand that I need to be secure about the aims I want to get to and communicate it to my audience, clients and collaborators for the a project to be stronger. In any case, a second collaborator or partner-in-crime would help me to develop project in which there needs to be interaction with many stake holders. Although, in this project and in life, when I am confident enough I can move many things, this is how it happened at Bemerton, where I now feel part of the community.

Silent leader.

Appendix

When it came to this project, I realized that I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as much as a leader as I though. I had in the past been directing many people, taking many decisions as some kind of art director and curator. But outside my zone of comfort I found it difficult to take a stand and lead firmly, which caused me lack of control within my group of collaborators and volunteers. I encountered situations in which I had to manage children, a thing that was new to me. It was difficult to learn how I could set myself as an authority character for them to respect and collaborate in a effective way. I now know that for a project of this nature, one has to be strong willed and prepared to deal with many social situations, not feeling inferior or over judged.

taking many decisions as some kind of art director and curator. But outside my zone of comfort I found it difficult to take a stand and lead firmly, which caused me lack of control within my group of collaborators and volunteers. I encountered situations in which I had to manage children, a thing that was new to me. It was difficult to learn how I could set myself as

an authority character for them to respect and collaborate in a effective way. I now know that for a project of this nature, one has to be strong willed and prepared to deal with many social situations, not feeling inferior or over judged.

Appendix