Home Grown Darnall

How does the project address the Liveness Charter aims?

Co-production

Too often we see housing developments enforced on local neighbourhoods, without any real discussion or interaction with the local communities in which it apparently hopes to serve. We wanted our design process to counter this, through a respondent practice, one which works with and for the community. From developing the concept of the scheme itself, through to the final submission, we utilised a number of co-design engagement sessions within Darnall, allowing the local residents to inform the next moves for the scheme and gain a real sense of ownership of the proposal. This began with the simple question of ‘what does home mean to you?’, discussing feelings, sentiments and shared memories. Later in the project, residents were critiquing our floor plan proposals and physical models, discussing how they would inhabit these spaces and what additional requirements might be needed. In many ways we functioned as a multidisciplinary design team.

"We had the privilege of working with Joe and Lewis, both through the allotment project and with community engagement. When delivering the bread to local households with Kinder, and at the local coffee morning, they were really good at talking to and listening to the thoughts of local residents from different backgrounds. Their use of the wheelbarrow was both fun and a brilliant conversation starter, as they walked around the area.

Both Joe and Lewis were excellent at sharing their vision with people, and inviting them to share their ideas. The sessions at the allotment were really interesting – seeing how they responded to the feedback of others and integrated this into their plans, and seeing how the vision then developed into plans and models was fascinating. And many of us found the conversations and ideas so inspiring – we all wanted to live in their plan – which shows how much they had taken our ideas and thoughts on board.  We commented after one session, that the council could do with them, to help them develop housing that is more sensitive to local needs as well as being unique and sustainable."

(Gina Kalsi, Church Army, Darnall Allotment Project)

Equitable

Home / Grown would not have been possible without the fantastic residents and collaborators we engaged with, and we were keen to honour the time and energy they gave with reciprocity. Alongside consulting them regarding our designs, we gave back through our regular volunteering at the allotment - along with sharing seeds, bread and stories at our pop up events. We consciously maintained these connections throughout the year, and were heavily invested in the spaces and communities we were welcomed into. Seeking to connect with underrepresented groups, our event venues ranged from growing spaces to streets, health, religious and community buildings using a variety of media to share ideas. In tandem, we interviewed local community organisers and wider experts, fostering a practice of open knowledge exchange. At our final exhibition, we were delighted to see so many of those we had met, even just once, returning to see the project outcomes and share their hopes for Darnall’s future.

Sustainable

Through the concept of ‘grow your own home’, the scheme explores how the status quo, brick and block construction tactics can be re-materialised with regenerative crops like hemp, straw and timber. This practice inherently lends itself to collective production, and we drew parallels between the sustainable, no-dig food growing we experienced at the allotments and how materials could be locally grown and harvested, giving people agency in constructing their homes and providing a relatable, understandable format of communicating building sustainability. Utilising our educational specialisms, we used the liveness aspect of our project as an opportunity to educate local residents on the possibilities of natural building materials, in a way that is relatable to addressing the issues faced by residents. Familiar with damp, mould and poor ventilation, when shown 1:1 natural material wall build-ups, they were relieved that these alternatives could provide healthier, more breathable environments that were less extractive. 

Meaningful

We made a conscious decision throughout our project to be embedded in Darnall, knowing that we could only design appropriate responses through meaningfully engaging with residents over the entirety of the project. Situating ourselves through regular volunteering at the Darnall Allotment Project, we were able to meet people from all walks of life, unified in a shared purpose of growing. This informal approach meant that we built personable relationships whilst constantly visiting our site. Planting and harvesting, we were invested in our mutual practice, and conversations with others naturally led to ways of living, growing and the importance of environments. Though our project was theoretical, we found such value in connecting with residents, and were inspired by their embrace of our practice. With many exclaiming their alienation with changes in their area, our approach hopes to set a benchmark with residents about how designers should address local aspirations and needs.