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N r r e b r o
S e m e ste r Programme
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G E N B R U G
P a r i s h
N e t w o r k
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B e n ja m in Bi ll N ic h o la s Love
K I R K E N S
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C O N T E N T S
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A B S T R A C T Inner-Nørrebro was introduced to us by Områdefornyelserne who shared statistics which painted a picture of urban degradation and a disenfranchised population. It was suggested that the area needs help positioning itself alongside the standards of surrounding districts. In contrast, from our time spent interviewing members of the community, a network of resources within the local parish was uncovered. Lisa Ellevang Rasmussen, Hellig Kors Kirken pianist, suggested that the locals are proud and show a tendency to regard imperfections as an expression of charm and character, rather than an issue in need of a solution. These differing perspectives prompted a conversation about Nørrebro’s vast diversity. Gentrification is an increasing issue in the area. Trendy Cafés and bespoke outlets seated alongside low-key ethnic grocers stand for a dichotomy that is rich but fragile. It became apparent that this is a pillar of the area’s identity and charm. Like many before, the community is walking the fine line between lucrative urban development and protecting the desires of existing residents. It is vital that our proposal considers this. We plan to adopt a ‘bottom-up’ approach, working with the local community to facilitate the changes that best represent their interests. Inspired by the theme of enthusiasm and volunteering we have decided to focus specifically on ‘Kirkens Genbrug’, the charity shop on Blågårdsgade that works to finance the local church kitchen, Samvirkende Menighed and the wider activities of Nørrebro’s parish network. From an interview with priest, Andreas Christensen, we uncovered multiple issues relating to the shop. He suggested that its lack of exposure was limiting and it has great potential to make a better contribution. Hence the question : “How can the Kirkens Genbrug be assisted in their work providing for the immediate community?”
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This project aims to use our skills in architecture and design to assist Kirkens Genbrug to make alterations as they see fit. It is our ambition to work on a spatial (micro) level for the benefit of the broader parish network (macro).
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C O N T E X T T H E
S I T E
Kirkens Genbrug - Nørrebro The Micro Scale of our project will focus on Kirkens Genbrug, the second-hand shop at 39 Blågårdsgade. The shop belongs to a larger network of Kirkens Genbrug stores across Denmark that are responsible for generating revenue for both their local church and Samvirkende Menighed. The shop downsized to its current address seven years ago, but has been on Blågårdsgade for over two decades. It can now be found just beyond the pedestrianised length of the street. The footpaths are a little narrower here and car traffic is relatively busy. In talks with the staff it was suggested that subtle improvements would help work against these factors. The shop’s symmetrical facade is at grade with the street, Quiet signage, a dormant window display, imposing security screens and industrial lighting restrict the shop from reaching its full potential. The assortment of clothing and homewares are donated on a daily basis and often left on the doorstep after opening hours. The task of sorting these donations is undertaken by a team of volunteers. After becoming volunteers ourselves we learnt that most hold a close solidarity with the local community and have a great rapport with their customers. Alongside this there are a number of regulars that see the common purchasing of items as ‘doing their bit’ for the community. Proceeds from the shop are redistributed within the Parish and Samvirkende Menighed. Understanding the exact finances of this is something that we are working on, however, our ultimate goal is to work to increase funding to the community.
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From time spent volunteering and talking with others, it has become apparent that the spatial / material aspects of the shop are letting it down. We believe that the charity output from Kirkens Genbrug would greatly benefit from work on a spatial and systems level.
KITC HEN
STO C K R OO M WC
S TOC K R OO M
SHOP FR ONT
AL L E Y WAY
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C O N T E X T
PA R I SH N ET WOR K & S A M V I R K E N DE M E N IG H E D
The macro scale of our project explores the local parish and Samvirkende Menighed. Both exist in the Nørrebro area and focus efforts to assist the poor, elderly and sick. Funding is received from sources ranging between local fundraising to government grants. Kirkens Genbrug exists on a local level with their entire profit margin divided between these two entities. Local Parish: The Parish offers numerous events and services for all people in Nørrebro. Throughout the ‘Finding and Archiving’ process we participated in these to better understand their operations and broader network. Such events consisted of harvest festivals, concerts and a lego design competition. It was during this time that we discovered that the parish provides basic meals for those in need between Tuesday and Thursday each week. Directly funded by a 25% share of Kirkens Genbrug’s profit, the charity meals are served from the Koncert Kirken and attended by many. The service is managed by Helle Alfredson, a bright longterm staff member and her team of enthusiastic volunteers. With that same funding the kitchen puts on a traditional Christmas Dinner each year, and provides small holidays for the least fortunate.
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Samvirkende Menighed: The Majority proportion of the monthly profit (75%) is received by Samvirkende Menighed. The group exists nation wide but is divided to focus on the different parishes within each municipality. The organisation works to provide support for people with mental illness, including addiction as well as the homeless. They provide ‘peer-to-peer’ support to help the marginalised groups in society through difficulties. We are currently in contact with the organisation to better understand their work in Nørrebro.
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C O N T E X T
I N T E R V I E W
W I T H
H E L L E
P E T E R S O N
Helle has worked in the Koncert Kirken for a little over 18 years and is the chairman of the second-hand shop, ‘Kirkens Genbrug’ on Blågårdsgade. She began as a volunteer and later on received a full-time paid contract. Helle’s main role is to manage and coordinate the community kitchen. Patrons treat the space as their own, the atmosphere is buzzing and friendly. Helle explained that, “We don’t want the physical setup of the kitchen and dining space to be any different, the visitors are homeless and poor, and here, they are satisfied”.
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“25% of the shop’s profits are used to fund the kitchen, but we need more money!”. Helle explained how Kirkens Genbrug desperately needs to start making more money as more and more homeless people are coming into the area and placing an ever increasing demand on the community kitchen. This is where we discussed the issues with the shop. Kirkens Grenbrug earns 1000kr on a very good day, and as little as 300kr on others. The average takings are around 650kr. The monthly rent is 7000kr on the space, and 75% of profits go to Samvirkende Menighed. This means that the Kitchen currently takes as little as 1500kr from the shop per month.
"Actually, don't do that. Instead, get rid of the school bell. And instead of having one school bell that goes off once, have several smaller school bells that go off in different places and different times, distribute the traffic through the corridors. It solves the same problem, but instead of spending several million pounds, you spend several hundred pounds. Now, it looks like you're doing yourself out of a job, but you're not. You're actually making yourself more useful”. Alastair Parvin, TED 2013. Discussing Architecture’s responsibility to adopt a holistic approach, examine the problem and ask how it could be answered other than by a new construction.
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Parvin, Alastair. “Alastair Parvin | Speaker | TED.Com”. Ted.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
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D E T A I L & S T R A T E G Y This project will be working between two scales, the micro and the macro. At a micro level we will be working with the volunteer network at Kirkens Genbrug to improve the spatial qualities of the shop and the daily operations that occur. We aim to increase the enthusiasm associated with the shop by creating a nicer and more efficient working environment. We will also work to better the shops sales by increasing its footfall. On a macro scale, we have identified a network that relies on funding from the Kirkens Genbrug shop. Helle has explained the wider social and political climate that is placing ever greater pressure on the kitchen and its output. We hope that increasing the success of the shop will have beneficial repercussions for the service, thus easing the pressure on output and better feeding those that depend on the meals. We are both working as volunteers in the shop to better understand its organisation and potential for change. Our ambition for this project is to facilitate improvements rather than impose them, working with the people who will be directly involved appeared a logical step. In developing any design solution we plan to run workshop sessions to allow staff to put forward the changes they might like to see. We hope that doing this while constantly sharing models, imagery and drawings for review will help to form the staffs ownership over the project. As we become increasingly ingrained with the volunteer network we will work to get a clear idea of how we can achieve the goal outlined by Helle of increasing the success of the shop and the kitchen.
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In terms of our current scope, initial conversations have revealed the desire for improving aspects of the shop previously mentioned. We are still at the very early stages of the project and understand that these are likely to develop and change. In considering this we must be aware that our knowledge of the area is still very young. We both believe that it is essential to continue developing our understanding of the context we are operating within.
Æctivators Project, Eger Hungary. In defining our aesthetic standards, our guideline was to satisfy the basic technical requirements, but in terms of usability, we sought to achieve maximal functionality. In a collaboration involving the social sphere, the institutional sphere and the construction industry, we managed to realize an exemplary renovation, making the most efficient use of onlyalready available resources, entirely without seed capital and cash flow.We reversed the usual course of planning: first, we found material support for the required tasks and then came up with architectural solutions to match the materials offered by sponsors.
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HUNGARY 2016 – MY ART GUIDES In-text: (Myartguides.com, 2016) Arkt, Myartguides.com. (2016). Hungary 2016 – My Art Guides. [online] Available at: http:// myartguides.com/national-participations/ hungary-2016/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016].
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P R O C E S S Volunteering / Interviews Due to the very specific nature of this project volunteering and interviews will be an important tool for our research. We are both working a day a week at the shop and plan for this to continue for the entirety of the project. From this we are aiming to uncover the idiosyncratic details of the shop and it’s systems that can not be learned from academic literature or theories of thought. We also feel that it is important to develop real solidarity with the staff and customers in order to properly understand the scope for change. Having realised the value of conducting interviews, we have organised to meet with Samvirkende Menighed to better understand their perspectives as the majority financial stakeholder in Kirkens Genbrug. We plan to use group workshops as a design tool. The purpose of this is to allow all stakeholders to have a voice while being able to discuss as a group the pro’s and con’s of suggested ideas. As mentioned before this will help with the staff ’s feelings of ownership and control. Feasibility Studies It is our ambition to work to implement the designs that we create, facilitated by our regular workshops with the other volunteers. Given the restrictions relating to time, money, materials and not wanting to be disruptive, we must constantly asses the feasibility of our proposals. At this early stage we are discussing possibilities such as working to secure material sponsorship, designing with reclaimed materials and holding a fundraising event. It is essential that we consider the desires of each stakeholder group when making any decisions.
It is very important to us both that our work this semester has repercussive benefits beyond the completion of the project. In the short term we will work with the shop to improve the immediately changeable factors, this however will be part of a larger future plan. Our strategy will generate a design proposal tailored to be achievable if the opportunity for works were ever to be received.
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Design Response
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T I M E
P L A N
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DOCUMENTATION
INTERVIEWS
MAKING PRESENTATION
REVIEW & FEEDBACK
VOLUNTEERING
DESIGN
EXISTING CONDITIONS
MEASURE UP
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
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C O D E
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The Spatial designer is observant and tuned into their environment. It is essential to know the principles of industries other than our own and to work to maintain a work / life balance, appreciating that engagement with a world outside of the studio is what informs good design decision making. We must work to facilitate the increasing trend of design as a democratic process, giving individuals the autonomy to create and edit their environment and thus reap the associated benefits to mental health and well being associated with this. Designs must be accessible and understandable by all, not exclusively other designers and architects. We must operate with an appreciation of the importance of form, but never producing work that places aesthetic qualities over user experience. We hope for as much time on site as possible and to work with the stakeholder groups that will be affected by final outcomes. We must take the time to deliver a quality outcome, not giving into client pressures, but rather working until the perfect outcome is reached.
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