Design Guide for Meanwhile Community Use by Tom Parker

Design Guide for

Meanwhile Community Use How to plan, design + build spaces for cultural use within existing buildings.

Cultural Retrofitting

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Cultural Retrofitting

Design Guide for

Meanwhile Community Use This design guide compiles the work and research of China Chapman & Thomas Parker, MArch students at the Sheffield School of Architecture.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Introduction This guide is split into two sections: The first a guide to identifying and setting up a meanwhile project; the second a series of built interventions that can be adapted to activate your space. Throughout we will reflect on our personal experience and process as well as offering more general lessons and tips. These general lessons will be identified by a shaded background whilst our personal experiences are shown on a white background

Gene

ral A

dvice

e roc ur P

Pre

ced

Who are we? We are two masters of architecture students who were planning and preparing for a meanwhile community build project which was unfortunately halted due to Covid-19 lockdown measures. Undeterred, we have compiled this design guide to distil the learning we have made through this process and explain the intentions of the project in the hope it will be completed once lockdown is lifted. This document is intended as both a record and reflection of our process as well as a general guide of how to conduct a meanwhile build project. We have analysed the process we have been on and broken it down into 7 stages. They are presented here in a linear, sequential manner for ease of understanding. In reality these stages overlapped, swapped around and lingered throughout our project. Built projects are notoriously uncertain and open to set-backs, delays and pauses. We have included these realities in this guide so that they can be avoided or China anticipated in your meanwhile project.

Tom

China

Cultural Retrofitting

The stages of a meanwhile project 3.

3. 4.

4. 4.

The typical meanwhile project process

How we are presenting it for clarity

Our journey was one with set-backs, dead ends and detours and was ultimately thrown completely off course.

Upon reflection we have linearised this journey into 7 steps to serve as a guide to ourselves and others

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

What is a Meanwhile Project? Meanwhile projects are temporary projects that activate a space until it undergoes a full renovation or retrofit. They are often self-organised and community focused and usually housed within existing buildings, though not always. The duration of a project can also vary greatly - from a single day to multiple years. These projects often have differing objectives. Some aim to capitalise on under-used spaces that may be in pivotal locations. Some aim to generate revenue which could contribute to the future renovations. Some aim to engender a sense of community ownership for a space so that people fight for it’s survival against developers. Some projects might begin as ‘meanwhile’ but, through a process of consolidation, may become permanent. They are often well loved by their community, well used or proven to be profitable. The meanwhile project that will be used to illustrate this guide was the activation of a disused chapel for community use focussing on youth and performance. We worked with Pitsmoor Adventure Playground in Burngreave, to the north of the city of Sheffield, who had been given a provisional lease for the building by Sheffield City Council.

How to Identify spaces for meanwhile use Often a meanwhile project is generated by the space it inhabits which may be under-used, derelict or up for demolition or renovation. Our project for instance was driven by the disused chapel building adjacent to the playground site being offered by the council for stewardship. Conversely, a community organisation may have an idea for a project but be in need of a space to host it. Some common features of suitable space are: Location - is the space easily accessible or in an area of high traffic? How far would users need to travel and through what mode of transport? Availability - is the space available for use? Does it currently have tenants? Who is the owner/landlord. Are they private or public? Accessibility - how easy is it to arrive and navigate around the space? We lots of alterations be needed to make it accessible for wheelchairs or physically impaired? Cost - Meanwhile projects tend to have a very limited budget so a cheap or free space is key. You would much rather spend money on creating the space you require than an expensive rent.

Cultural Retrofitting

Our Meanwhile Project

Burngreave Cemetery

Council owned Land

Burngreave Stre et

Melrose Road

Pitsmoor Adventure Playground

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Cultural Retrofitting

Our OurProcess Process

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Identify Cultural Ecosystem

Firstly we were introduced to our partners ‘The Pitsmoor Adventure Playground’ through one of the University of Sheffield’s Live Project teams. One of the members of the Build + Design team had been working with the playground on future proposals of their facilities six weeks prior to the beginning of the Build + Design project. The playground’s organisation consisted of: Playworkers Trustee members Funding manager Playground manager. Community Assets in need for meanwhile use: Nearby Grade 2 listed Chapel Hence there was a good understanding of the playground’s future aspirations but little information of their meanwhile needs. Therefore, a big part of our process at the beginning was to submerse ourselves into the life of the

playground, interacting through playful engagements in order to build strong relationships with the playground but also to understand what the spaces needed for ourselves. Through our first few meetings we found out that these people had close ties with other community organisations such as youth networks, foodbanks, scrap stores, local newspapers etc. Our engagements consisted of play centred activities with the children of the playground which also enabled valuable discussions with the playworkers and families. At this early stage we found the process of mapping valuable for understanding the community’s available resources, especially in relation to building materials and expertise. We did this through shared google maps based on: Community Buildings Building Materials and Expertise Cultural Spaces

Cultural Retrofitting

As outsiders in relation to the Burngreave community we also went on a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;directed walkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; around the community; being led on by people in the local area towards buildings they felt would be useful to the project, such as building suppliers and religious buildings which hosted community events. We would not be aware of these one off events by desk research alone.

Directed Walk Outcome

Through our engagements with the playground and mapping exercises we quickly found that there was a lack of youth provision in relation to the arts in the area. Furthermore, the funding manager communicated the importance of heritage for the existing chapel building which in-turn reinforces the means for receiving heritage funding later on. In hindsight we realised that these themes of youth provision and heritage could have arrived earlier in the process if we started by carefully mapping out the people involved in the project; as we later realised that the funding manager of the playground had close ties with the youth network of Burngreave.

Managers

Trustee Members Play-workers

n Mai Main

tact

Con

Cont

act

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

1. It is important to understand what existing relationships are already in place to help initiate the processes. These relationships can be used to extend the stakeholders of the project for instance with organisations in the community who have like minded priorities.

Explore Design is a brilliant tool with advice for forming a strategy for under-used community buildings. They define the following design themes alongside examples which can help to prioritise the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spatial needs:

Depending on the positionality of the initiator/facilitator as an outsider from the community or insider local to the community, mapping resources and community assets can be useful for understanding the current situation. This can highlight opportunities for enhancing or creating new cultural networks with your project. Similarly to our case, outsiders may benefit from mapping via desk research firstly which can be carried out through google maps or with on ground research; making the most of existing relationships and local knowledge, which can be later collated and used to support the project. 1. Have access to community assets/buildings with meanwhile intention. 2. Map out people and organisations which may be affected by the project alongside possible partners, funders and beneficiaries. 3. Set up a framework of meetings and both casual and formal engagements to create a dialogue and means for positive relationships between these people. 4. Mapping through desk research and on ground local knowledge based on the themes and needs of the project. 5. Understand the short term and long term design intention for the project which may come from the mapping and engagement exercises 6. Having rough design ideas which are presented in an accessible open ended way which can be presented at meeting/engagements.

We reocmmend checking out their resources at: http://explore-design.empoweringdesign.net/

Cultural Retrofitting

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Defining the Brief

At this stage we completed our design manifesto which detailed the ambitions of the playground alongside our research question: How can community building and participatory design be used to culturally retrofit disused infrastructure for meanwhile use while unlocking opportunities for a future legacy? The manifesto was a means to legitimise the informal working we had completed with the playground and translate that into an academically understood document. This was frustrating at times as we tried to mould our working into a university submission. We felt this worked against the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;just do itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attitude we had developed in the first semester. We questioned whether our efforts would be better placed pushing forward with participation, sourcing materials. However, with hindsight we both feel that exploring theoretical avenues ultimately enriched our project and gave us a clearer vision for our build + design process. We chose culture and youth as the focus for our thesis in

response to the playground launching a youth network. The area is very well provided for with sports facilities and groups but lacks spaces for performance, arts and cultural expression outside of religious institutions.

Cultu Retro ral fittin g

r Ou sto e nif a M

A Jo China int Desig nM Chapm an & anifesto by Thom as Pa rker

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Key Questions Architects are very good at defining briefs. Be it an inexperienced client with an initial idea, a personal research design question or a more thorough spatial investigation we are well versed in distilling the desires of a client. This experience is therefore vital for combining the ambition of a client partner with their user group. At this stage of a meanwhile project you collate the knowledge you have developed by embedding into a community and transform that into a brief which will be understandable by all.

The fundamental questions to ask when devising a brief are: 1. What is the desired outcome of this meanwhile project? What are the ambitions; both meanwhile and long term? 2. Who is this project for? How can you best go about engaging them in design and construction? A playground is a very different environment to a care home - the engagement strategies should reflect this 3. What are the time-scales for these projects? Is there a lead in time before construction can begin or does your partner want to get started as soon as possible? 4. Where can you source materials from? 5. How will the project be funded? This will be explored further in the next section

Practical Methods

Storage and seats

Community cleanup

» Storage for the Playground

» Bring awareness of the chapel to the community

» Seats for the theatre Est. construction time:

Est. time to organise :

a Month or more

Partitions

» Involve Children

Est. construction time:

» Hold events

Est. construction time:

a week

a couple of weeks

Est. construction time:

a couple of weeks

Partitions

Frame and Net

Est. construction time:

a couple of » Flexible and movable partitions for weeks the Chapel 30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

» Replace the Net » Build a frame for the net

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

Est. construction time:

a couple of weeks

Storage and seats

Community cleanup » Bring awareness of the chapel to the community » Spark a sense of ownership of the Chapel within the community Est. construction time:

a Month or more

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

Est. construction time:

» Storage for the Playground

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

Additional to generating ideas a model is a great way of legitimising the project and getting people excited about future possibilities.

» Involve Children

» Theatre for children

a week

» Seats for the theatre

Engagement Model Make a quick but robust model of the proposed space to help people of all ages engage with design. We ran a crafting session imagining possible futures for the chapel. Parents and children alike got involved with suggestions from a dance stage to glazing the whole roof.

» Involve the community

» Build a frame for the net

Est. construction time:

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

» Hold events

» Replace the Net

the Chapel Portable Stage

» Temporary workshop to build things for the chapel » Involve the community

Portable Stage » Theatre for children

» Temporary workshop to build things for the chapel

Frame and Net

» Flexible and movable partitions for

Crafts and Making Workshop

» Spark a sense of ownership of the Chapel within the community

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

Est. time to organise :

a Month or more

30.01.2020 - Studio Projects on the Building

Flash Cards Flash cards are a great way of discerning the priorities for the space. They typically include one idea per card with a title, short description and small image. They can be used as conversation prompts or ranked in order of preference, urgency etc.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Funding the Project

Attending grant presentation

Writing collaborative bid

Micro-Grant awarded!

For the chapel build the playground had initially pledged ÂŁ5000 for the clearing and temporary refurbishment of the space. This was part of their agreement with Sheffield City Council for taking on the lease of the building and its stewardship. However, a trial heritage lottery fund scheme launching in Sheffield offered a means to supplement this figure and protect playground cash reserves. The micro-grant scheme offered grants from ÂŁ500-ÂŁ3000 for local heritage events and activities. They had a quick turnaround for applications, decisions and delivery of the funding. Sat 1st Feb: We attended an information event with Fran, the finance manager from the playground, that introduced the scheme and application process. Following this, working with Rebecca and Michael from our studio, we drafted an application for funding a series of events focused on building and heritage.

1. Alongside Fran we refined the events to 3 main ones: An initial community clear-out to clean and make safe the chapel space; 2. An engagement event working with Friends of Burngreave Cemetery and Burngreave Messenger sharing stories of the cemetery, collecting oral histories and running building workshops inside the chapel; 3. A final presentation event showcasing the finished chapel meanwhile project alongside the work produced at the previous engagement and student projects. Sat 29th Feb: After provisionally submitting our application to the HLF we attended a meeting to grant the award in principle. This was our opportunity to further explain the events and their heritage focus. We were successful and were awarded the funding in principle.

Cultural Retrofitting

The success of a meanwhile project is heavily dependent on the funding you can secure to complete it. Your organisation may have funding reserves or have been fundraising for a long time - in which case this advice may not apply. A multi-stream approach to community fundraising is often wise so that you aren’t reliant on just one funding source. Each project will be different and therefore able to tap into different funding sources but some common ones are listed below: Heritage lottery fund: Typically offer funding from £3000 up to (10 mill??) for the production of spaces or activities that promote heritage to the public. They use a broad definition of heritage so it’s worth checking their requirements, even if you don’t initially think you would be eligible. CIL Funding: The Community Infrastructure Levy is a planning mechanism which charges new development a fee towards locally required infrastructure. This infrastructure can be both large and small scale so your community organisation could put in a bid for a grant. National Lottery Community Fund: Grants are available across a range of categories ranging from £300 to over £150,000.

Most funding sources have some common requirements: A bid - usually a document or multiple documents describing your organisation, project, how and who it will effect. You are often required to provide organisational checks such as a constitution and accounts Monitoring - Funders like to know how their money is being spent and the benefit it is creating. You may be expected to collect evidence of this in the form of testimonies, surveys, photographs and reports. Interview/presentation - it is not uncommon for a funding body to require an in-person interview of presentation before, during or after the project. A project plan - these vary in complexity and detail but generally will include projected spending, incoming and outgoing expenses and contingency planning For further advice about funding your meanwhile project please see the following sources. If your project is quite ambitious it may be advisable to hire a funding advisor who may act on your behalf.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Prototyping and Developed Design

For our designs we adopted a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;material first approachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This means that we started with an intention or idea and went looking for a cheap or free material to achieve this. An example of this is the workshop tables we built from reclaimed hardwood doors. We started with the intention to make a workshop table from a door, but the end design and appearance was dictated by the dimensions of the doors we could source. With the base material sources we would collaboratively sketch design ideas that focused on minimising the amount of additional material. For the table this meant cutting and tapering the frame for holding the legs, as the doors were very rigid so wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need lots of reinforcing. This process of learning by building highlighted buildability issues - such as clashes with the drill and table when we needed to widen a guide hole. This process allowed us to refine sequencing and design adjustments. The final stage of the prototype process was to ensure that the design could be repeated. To test this we

partially prepared pieces of wood in the workshop that were taken to the playground and assembled by children, parents and staff. Ultimately this was a big success, the second table was made and our sequencing finalised! Working in partnership with the playground gifted us a brief and location for our meanwhile intervention. Therefore, ensuring the playground and their trustees were in the loop and on board with our proposals was extremely important. Our studio met with the trustees to share proposals that had been worked up with playground staff and users. This meeting was successful in convincing the trustees that we were proposing attainable designs which could be produced on a small budget. The next stage of this was to refine the designs in response to our prototypes and produce detailed costings. These would need to be signed off before construction could begin so had to be sensible and justified yet ambitious and beautiful.

Cultural Retrofitting

A material-first approach

aff

old

ard

s Tyre e

Stag

Trustee Meeting

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

ConstructLab ConstructLab are an organisation based in Berlin that we visited on a recent trip there. Their founder Alex Romer, described the importance of designing situations rather than objects. We feel like this is a powerful way to start when approaching meanwhile spaces. What are the situations you want to create in your space? How could built interventions encourage this? For instance you want to invite people to share food with you. What will you need to achieve this? A dining table, sink, counter? Or simply a fire pit with logs to sit on? Starting from situation first allows you the envisage relationships, moments and encounters before you design the world around them.

Raumlabor Also based in Berlin, Raumlabor is a collective who design and construct installations, exhibitions and festivals. There work is often temporary or begins that way yet somehow persists. We visited their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Floating Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Berlin (which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t actually float) to learn about how this project has grown from an initial idea into a thriving destination for alternative though, debate and discussion. They used reclaimed materials and had a constantly evolving approach to their spaces. The beauty of a series of pavilions is that they can be adapted and modified to suit changing needs. This flexibility is something the design in with meanwhile projects. Try to avoid moves that permanently change the space such as demolition or using irreversible construction methods. Screws and mechanical fixings in timber are easily changed or replaced.

Cultural Retrofitting

Key Questions What interventions will help achieve the meanwhile use of your space? Are these interventions standard (e.g. tables, chairs, storage) or more bespoke (e.g. flexible partitions, stage, moving elements)? Can these interventions be sourced cheap or free? Sometimes a built solution is not always appropriate - if you need seating for 50 people for an event could you borrow it from another venue? In the second half of this guide we have compiled some ‘step-by-step’ instructions for building our chapel interventions. These arose in response to the space, the available materials and the skill of projected participants. These should be the three guiding factors when prototyping designs for you meanwhile project:

Space

What is the size and use of the space for your project? Is it an existing building, outdoor space or new build? Each of these will require a very different response What are the opportunities or limitations of the space? These could be related to size, lighting, access, visibility, security or safety.

Available materials

Is there a desired aesthetic to your meanwhile project? Can this be achieved with reclaimed materials over raw ones? What design moves can you use to tie together different interventions? This could be similarities of materiality, form or inventive use of colour or graphics. Can the design be achieved using standard sizes of standard building products to minimise cost and wastage? Budget is also a key factor dictating your available materials. You need to decide where money is most effectively spent.

Skills

If you intend to engage the community with your build you need to assess how accessible your designs are to them. We operated a strategy of ‘half-finished’ designs’ whereby we had worked out initial sequences for building but wanted to include the community in key design decisions on site. This could be to do with the correct height for an element, the colour it should be painted or how best to join two materials. This is a careful balance of not wanting to be over-prescriptive yet needing to build efficiently in a given time-frame.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Preparation for Build Sourcing materials, skills, tools

Materials

In order to minimise the environmental impact of our meanwhile project and reduce costs we looked to source recycled, reclaimed or scrap materials wherever possible. This involved approaching local scrap yards, reclamation yards and garages, explaining the project and who it was for, and usually organising our own transport. Alongside salvaged materials we also required new, reliable pieces of timber and connections. We approached local suppliers to ask for in-kind donations or discounts. Two strategies proved fruitful with this. Firstly, we compiled a small but eye catching PDF of the studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s built proposals that we sent along with a letter of specific requests. This helped to prove the validity of the project and allowed suppliers to give us a response very quickly. Secondly, picking up the phone or visiting in person was by far the most effective way of engaging suppliers. See the appendices for an example in-kind request

letter and a copy of the PDF we were sending out. We approached the following suppliers and schemes: Travis Perkins Wickes B&Q Burngreave Building Company

Tools

For our planned build we were getting tools from many sources which is typical of a community build. This included hiring tools from Burngreave Tools Bank (LINK), the Architecture workshop and borrowing from friends. We also attempted to procure some tool donations from the following companies, again using the strategy of emails and phone calls: Makita DeWalt

Cultural Retrofitting

Skills

In preparing to build we were developing our practical skills in construction but were by no means experts. The build project was going to be educational for us as well. Alongside learning from each other we wanted to engage local tradespeople to give demonstrations or advice. Below are some example pages from our project summary document. This is useful to establish as early as possible as it gives a sense of validity when approaching different organisations for help or donations.

Eye-catching front cover

Describe project and institution

Project specific information

Who is taking part?

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Preparation for Build Health and Safety

Working with children and the community it was essential that we minimised risk of injury or damage. We received a lot of guidance from members of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Buildupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; a non-profit that constructs community projects with children in London. Their work ranges from public space improvements to structures in adventure playgrounds. Huan Rimmington, the founder, skyped with our studio with advice about insurance and risk mitigation. Stand-out lessons were the importance of inducting the public in safe use of tools, planning the construction site with chill out spaces, tool stores and space to complete tasks. We were advised by Nebba Sere about the required documentation when embarking on a community build. They include: Project Brief* - usually an iterative process will lead to a project brief but ahead of any building work its good to have this defined and confirmed Method Statement* - written description of the project, its aims and the chain of responsibility. Risk assessments* - We completed risk assessments for all of our engagements as per university requirements These documents are key to identifying and mitigating risks Material List* - Materials, quantities, costs and suppliers Construction Plan - often in the form of a Gantt chart, this sequences the various elements of the build including deliveries, sequencing and contingencies Participant Agreements - Short contract ensuring participants have understood the health and safety briefing and are responsible for behaving appropriately on site Staff project plan - Brief staff and volunteers on timings, responsibilities, and key dates/information

Skype with Huan

*We have included these examples in the appendices

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Health and Safety Sourcing materials, skills, tools • • •

Do you have all of the skills necessary to complete the build safely and effectively? If not, who does have those skills and how can they get involved? What skills are there in the community that will benefit your meanwhile build? Where are you sourcing tools from? One or multiple sources? If multiple, do they all meet health and safety checks?

Build Up Build Up are a London based organisation who organise and run community build project with children and young people. They are concerned with ‘equipping young people with the skills to become the change-makers of tomorrow’.

Materials What sources of recycled, reclaimed or scrap materials are there in your local area? Good places to check are salvage yards, construction companies, skips in the community, car garages (for tyres) and other trade suppliers. Many are happy to give you materials for free or with a big discount if you explain your project is for the community. Just make sure you definitely have permission to take any materials and that you have spoken with someone before you take anything.

Health and safety •

•

They often work in adventure playgrounds and with councils any youth organisations to build project codesigned with children. They are big advocates for the empowering power of building and being able to see yourself represented in the space around you.

Who is in charge of health and safety for the project? It is the responsibility of all participants to maintain proper health and safety but it often helps to have a single person in charge of coordination. What information do different participants need? A staff member instructing someone to build needs very different information from a child helping to build.

Insurance

The main form of insurance that is necessary for most meanwhile build projects is public indemnity insurance. This covers staff and members of the public for injury obtained during the course of the build. Your organisation may already have this so it is worth checking with your insurer what you are covered for. This should be obtained anew or extended to cover construction related activities.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Building

This was unfortunately the point that circumstances out of our control halted our meanwhile project. However we were planning extensively for this stage so can relay some of our intentions in this guide. We benefited from the knowledge of our tutor, Lettice Drake, and consultation with Nebba Serre and Huan Rimmington from BuildUp so have captured some of their wisdom here. Also the playground undergoes a constant process of maintenance and renewal so their expertise was also incredibly valuable. As our built project was going to welcome members of the public and invited guests we needed to ensure that the site was safe, comfortable and ready for building to occur. We have previously mentioned the community cleanup event. This would be precluded with a full health and safety assessment of the building to assess areas of access. We would board up anywhere deemed unsafe and begin to zone out the chapel and its surroundings. The following spaces are what we imagine would be

required for the duration of the build: Welcome space: Covered welcome point with a sign in sheet and space to store bags and coats External material store: Preferably weather proof and secure Tea point: Crucial for the effective running of any building site. We had secured some funding from the university to build a construction welfare station with kettle, snacks, games and comfy seating Chill out area: The public wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be building the whole time so need a comfortable, dry area to relax when not working Cutting area: Controlled area for cutting timber and board Assembly areas: Spacious areas for assembly of built interventions. Tool store and table: A tidy building site is a happy building site. We would operate a use and return rule to keep track of tools. In part 2 we have included design instructions for a tool hanger with outlines of tools for quickly identifying which tools are in use.

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Daily timetable

Week 1

Week 2

tro

Production Centre

Detailed Design

Co Design

Critical Concrete

Furniture and Kitchen unit construction

tio

uc str

12:00 11:00

13:00 14:00

10:00

09:00

Typical Construction Day

15:00

Morning Meeting

18:00

uc tr ns

17:00

19:00

tio

16:00

Critical Concrete are a social enterprise based in Porto, Portugal who run a sustainable construction summer school. They aim to renovate social houses for families whilst teaching about low impact materials and sustainable construction methods. Some handy lessons learned from them are the importance of a tightly managed tool table and tool hanger with a ‘use and return’ policy. Picking a limited set of 3 screws (small, medium and large) with the same screw heads will simplify construction and limit the drill bits required. The boxes of screws and drill bits can then be colour coded.

Week 3

Demolition Services, Insulation, Structural + Clear Reinforcement, Ceilings, Walls

Construction Site

This would definitely change over the duration of the build depending on who was helping on different days but we had established a rough daily routine as a base: 8:30/9:00 - Arrive and prepare the site. Open the chapel and move out tools and materials that had been locked in overnight 9:30 - team meeting to plan the day, assign roles and reflect on the build so far 10:00 welcome volunteers to the site, sign in, double check inductions have happened and store coats and bags 10:30 - Morning briefing: Welcome everyone and explain the days tasks. Assign to volunteers and take any questions. Young volunteers need to be supervised so would be assigned a student mentor. 11-1 - Morning session 1:00 - Lunch break: Either provided for or sourced from local restaurants. 2:00-5:00 - Afternoon session 5:00 - Tidy and pack away materials and tools 5:30/6pm Site closed

Cle and ar-up Lock -up

This diagram illustrates the typical on-site build day during the summer school with the key morning meetings to distribute jobs, a shared ‘down-tools’ lunch break, and plenty of time for clearing up at the end of the day.

Insulatio furnitur

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Use and Reflection

At the time of writing our meanwhile project has not yet been realised due to Covi-19. However we have taken this opportunity to push forward designs that we thought would be partially designed on site. As a result we have achieved a series of thoughtful, detailed and iterative built interventions that can be used by the playground going forward should the project become viable. We would like to be involved in whatever capacity we can but in the first instance felt that providing as detailed a design as possible could stimulate the conversation in the future. A stage using tyres as a supporting structure is situated to the back of the stage with tiered seating made from scaffolding planks. The design of these was inspired by the pews that would have once filled the chapel. Flexible partitions and a moveable counter unit make the middle space as adaptable as possible. We have designed various options into the entrance pavilion including seats, coat hangers and space for a bar or counter.

Proposed layout for chapel meanwhile project

Tyre Stage

Pew Seating Tiered Seating Moveable Partitions Folding Table

Entrance Canopy

Moveable counter

Cultural Retrofitting

Entrance Pavilion

These visuals illustrate the situation if all designs were built. In reality just a selections of these would drastically improve the space and activate it for community use.

View of the space from the stage

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

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Building Building Instructions Instructions

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Entrance Pavilion

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Coat Hanger

Bar counter

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Entrance pavilions levels Sleepers and posts

Bottom level

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Middle layer

Top layer

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Moveable Partition A

2. A

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Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Teapoint Storage

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6.a 6.b

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Tyre Stage

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Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Baffle Materials

Stage plan

Single tyre platforms

Stage components

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Stage extension

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Tool Hanger

2. z z

y x y

x z

y z x

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Inspiration

ti rna

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

Pew seating Materials

Assembly

b. f. a. e.

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3 tiered seating Components

Assembly

b. c. d.

Design Guide for Meanwhile Use

4 tiered seating Components

b. a.

Assembly

c. d.

a. b.

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3 tier materials

4 tier materials