Carolyn Butterworth
Director of Live Works Senior University Teacher
+44 114 222 0308
She/her
I am Director of ‘Live Works’, Sheffield School of Architecture's pioneering Urban Room that combines live teaching, graduate employment, civic engagement and participatory research. Live Works supports and enhances the socially-engaged aspects of the School of Architecture's teaching and research, including our Live Projects modules where MArch and MA Architectural Design students work with community clients on projects that make a real social impact.
I am a passionate advocate of the value of 'liveness' and of the arts in architectural education. I teach the value of engaging with local communities creatively on site, often in collaboration with artists. Connecting socially-engaged architecture and site-specific art practice, my MArch studio works ‘in residence’, evolving ambitious real and speculative design projects that act as catalysts for change.
I studied architecture at Sheffield School of Architecture and The Bartlett School, UCL. My practice CV includes Director of van Heyningen and Haward in London and my own practice in London and Sheffield. I have experience of running complex building projects from inception to construction, in the education and cultural sectors. I have taught at the Sheffield School of Architecture since 2001 and have been a full-time teacher since 2011. Through Live Works I explore with students and community partners alternate forms of practice where the role of the architect is reconstructed as ethical practitioner and spatial activist.
I am External Examiner for the MArch course at London Metropolitan University, Founding Chair of the Urban Rooms Network and a Director of the Guild of St George, John Ruskin’s education charity for arts, craft and the rural economy.
In 2017 I was awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and in 2016 I was awarded a University Senate Fellowship for Sustained Excellence in Learning & Teaching.
Urban Rooms Toolkit - January-September, 2022
Urban Rooms Toolkit - January-September, 2022
The Urban Rooms Toolkit is a public resource to be used, downloaded and shared by anyone interested in situated creative community engagement in placemaking. Here you will find all you need to know about setting up an Urban Room. In this Toolkit you can read the STORIES, get the KNOWHOW and discover the METHODS that have been tried and tested by the Urban Rooms Network.
The Toolkit consists of a website with links to download the whole Toolkit, or individual sections:■ Urban Rooms?: introducing the Urban Room as a tool for place-based community engagement - its ethos, the forms it can take and who might benefit from setting one up.■ Stories: case studies of Urban Rooms across the UK - how they were set up, their aims, challenges, activities and the impact they had on their place.■ Knowhow: how to make the case, set up, resource and operate an Urban Room - based on real experience from the Urban Rooms Network.■ Methods: the activities, techniques and tools that have been tried and tested in UrbanRooms to foster inclusive and creative engagement.
The project was funded via HEIF Knowledge Exchange funding by The University of Sheffield. The Toolkit was produced by Live Works, co-created with the Urban Rooms Network, in partnership with The Place Alliance, UR Folkestone and the Greater London Authority. The project also included the redesign of the Urban Rooms Network website.
"The Place Alliance set up the Urban Rooms Network as one of its working groups in 2015 because urban rooms can play a vital part in working with communities in helping them to appreciate and improve the quality of their places. The Toolkit will play a valuable and integral role in continuing the Place Alliance’s campaign for improving place quality nationally by encouraging the establishment of more urban rooms." - Prof. Matthew Carmona, Chair of Place Alliance, UCL Bartlett School of Planning
"We are pleased to have partnered the University of Sheffield on the UR Toolkit project which holds immense value to individuals and groups in helping them to develop civic participation in planning and architecture, and the built environment more generally." - Diane Dever, Chair of Urban Rooms Network
Website, Book, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
The Toolkit consists of a website with links to download the whole Toolkit, or individual sections:■ Urban Rooms?: introducing the Urban Room as a tool for place-based community engagement - its ethos, the forms it can take and who might benefit from setting one up.■ Stories: case studies of Urban Rooms across the UK - how they were set up, their aims, challenges, activities and the impact they had on their place.■ Knowhow: how to make the case, set up, resource and operate an Urban Room - based on real experience from the Urban Rooms Network.■ Methods: the activities, techniques and tools that have been tried and tested in UrbanRooms to foster inclusive and creative engagement.
The project was funded via HEIF Knowledge Exchange funding by The University of Sheffield. The Toolkit was produced by Live Works, co-created with the Urban Rooms Network, in partnership with The Place Alliance, UR Folkestone and the Greater London Authority. The project also included the redesign of the Urban Rooms Network website.
"The Place Alliance set up the Urban Rooms Network as one of its working groups in 2015 because urban rooms can play a vital part in working with communities in helping them to appreciate and improve the quality of their places. The Toolkit will play a valuable and integral role in continuing the Place Alliance’s campaign for improving place quality nationally by encouraging the establishment of more urban rooms." - Prof. Matthew Carmona, Chair of Place Alliance, UCL Bartlett School of Planning
"We are pleased to have partnered the University of Sheffield on the UR Toolkit project which holds immense value to individuals and groups in helping them to develop civic participation in planning and architecture, and the built environment more generally." - Diane Dever, Chair of Urban Rooms Network
Website, Book, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
URT_Full_FINAL.pdf"We are pleased to have partnered the University of Sheffield on the UR Toolkit project which holds immense value to individuals and groups in helping them to develop civic participation in planning and architecture, and the built environment more generally."
-Diane Dever, Chair of Urban Rooms Network
SYHA / SSoA Housing Exhibition - June, 2021-ongoing
SYHA / SSoA Housing Exhibition - June, 2021-ongoing
The exhibition is designed to celebrate two years of student work developed through the School's collaboration with South Yorkshire Housing Association, showcasing design projects, dissertation material and Live Projects.
The exhibition is designed to be deployed indoors or externally to reach as wide an audience as possible.
The exhibition would expose the excellent work of over 300 students from across the School to the general public, providing an engaging forum for discussion around topical housing issues. It is intended that several students would be involved as key members of the curatorial team.
Event, Presentation, EDI, Climate Emergency, Participation, Placemaking, Material Cultures, Building Performance, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
The exhibition is designed to be deployed indoors or externally to reach as wide an audience as possible.
The exhibition would expose the excellent work of over 300 students from across the School to the general public, providing an engaging forum for discussion around topical housing issues. It is intended that several students would be involved as key members of the curatorial team.
Event, Presentation, EDI, Climate Emergency, Participation, Placemaking, Material Cultures, Building Performance, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Castlegate Common Manifesto - November, 2021
Castlegate Common Manifesto - November, 2021
Castlegate Common Manifesto - reduced.pdfLive Works was commissioned by Sheffield City Council to deliver a series of workshops with local stakeholders to inform and enhance the regeneration of the Castle Site in Castlegate, building on 8 years of research, visioning and engagement by the School of Architecture in the area. This co-production process aimed to support the development of the new public realm so that it benefits as much as possible from the extraordinary potential of this unique site and its rich community context. The workshops engaged existing members of the Castlegate Partnership and other local stakeholders to ensure representation of the diversity of the area's population and grassroots activities. The workshop themes were:• Revealing the Outdoor City• Revealing Innovation• Revealing Arts and Culture• Revealing Heritage
The award of Levelling Up funding required meaningful community engagement to inform directly the project design. 13 co-produced recommendations from the workshops were presented in the 'Castlegate Common Manifesto' and these recommendations informed directly the planning application that was submitted by Sheffield City Council in February 2023. Beyond the stakeholder workshops, Live Works ran the 'Castlegate Futures Urban Room' in November 2022 that gathered public feedback on the Manifesto recommendations, further informing the Council's plans.
EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth and Emre Akbil
The award of Levelling Up funding required meaningful community engagement to inform directly the project design. 13 co-produced recommendations from the workshops were presented in the 'Castlegate Common Manifesto' and these recommendations informed directly the planning application that was submitted by Sheffield City Council in February 2023. Beyond the stakeholder workshops, Live Works ran the 'Castlegate Futures Urban Room' in November 2022 that gathered public feedback on the Manifesto recommendations, further informing the Council's plans.
EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth and Emre Akbil
Continuity of Community Projects - 4th October, 2021
Continuity of Community Projects - 4th October, 2021
I was invited to make a presentation on "Group Dynamics" to an event focusing on "Continuity in Community Projects", drawing on my experience of coordinating the Live Projects Programme. The event was designed to facilitate knowledge exchange between participants and PGR students at the University of Sheffield School of Architecture.
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Sam Brown, Carolyn Butterworth
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Sam Brown, Carolyn Butterworth
How Engaged Learning Can Educate Professionals For A Sustainable Future - February, 2020
How Engaged Learning Can Educate Professionals For A Sustainable Future - February, 2020
The presentation aimed to explore the relationship between engaged learning and employability, using examples from both Architecture and Law Schools. The collaboration enabled a discussion and comparison between pedagogical approaches in the two Schools, and explained how engaged learning introduces the complexity of real-life issues into students' learning, as well as the enhanced value of engaged learning in a research-led context. The presentation also focused on sustainable employability skills for professional courses that are at the centre of the two Schools.
Presentation to the University of Sheffield Learning and Teaching Conference.
Presentation, EDI, Pedagogy, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Presentation to the University of Sheffield Learning and Teaching Conference.
Presentation, EDI, Pedagogy, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
A Part of and Apart From - March (event) + September (presentation), 2019
A Part of and Apart From - March (event) + September (presentation), 2019
A Part of and Apart From - Published.pdfA workshop delivered in March 2019 by the authors and MArch students at the ‘School Fundamental’ Festival, Bauhaus, Dessau. The event marked 100 years of the Bauhaus and 20 years of SSoA Live Projects, providing an excellent opportunity to reflect upon our live pedagogical experience within the context of the Bauhaus legacy. The workshop addressed the polarisation that can occur when discussing different types of student projects, using a matrix of four, commonly used terms: real, deliverable, speculative, abstract. Outcomes revealed how a student project can have value as both ‘a part of, and apart from’ the external world. A paper reflecting on the findings of the workshop was presented at the AAE 2019 conference at University of Westminster April 2019 and submitted to the AAE peer-reviewed journal Charette (pending).
Event, Journal Article, Presentation, EDI, History and Representation, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Event, Journal Article, Presentation, EDI, History and Representation, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
SSoA Feminist Library - May, 2020-ongoing
SSoA Feminist Library - May, 2020-ongoing
In March 2020 SSoA staff and students organised a Feminist Teach Out to explore feminist foundations, fields and futures and celebrate 20 years of feminist activity at SSoA. Many participants at the event expressed interest in having access to the work produced in the school over the years under this banner. During the last decades, numerous students have produced design and theoretical projects addressing feminist topics and methodologies which remained invisible to the wider School community. Much of the feminist work in the School took more intangible forms such as conferences, events and discussions which remained fully or partially unrecorded. The Feminist Library at SSoA will include an archive, in which previous outputs (dissertations, publications, theses, design projects, event recordings and testimonials) will be documented and stored, and a live part in which new events, activities, and debates will be posted in real time. The Feminist Library will be launched during a special event in November and disseminated across UK and international HE institutions. This will be a key resource for students and staff and will ensure that SSoA continues to set the agenda in feminist pedagogy and research.
Website, EDI, History and Representation, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Catherine Skelcher
Website, EDI, History and Representation, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Catherine Skelcher
Urban Education Live - 2017-2021
Urban Education Live - 2017-2021
This paper is by Urban Education Live Sheffield (UEL:SHEF) – Carolyn Butterworth and Maša Šorn from the School of Architecture, University of Sheffield and Tatjana Schneider from the Institute for History and Theory of Architecture and the City (GTAS), Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. UEL:SHEF is part of a co-funded multi-disciplinary research project Urban Education Live (UEL), with partners from across Europe funded by JPI Urban Europe’s ERA-NET ‘Smart Urban Futures’. All UEL partners are engaged in developing models of collaboration between universities and communities. Although their situations are different in many ways, they are similar in the lack of effective and meaningful dialogue that occurs between communities and civic decision-makers in the production of the city. The shared aim is to develop methods of creative co-production that can open up the processes of urban production to those who are generally excluded from these conversations, building capacity in those communities to effect change.
This paper focussed on highlighting the challenges faced by Community Place Initiatives in Sheffield (Pitsmoor Adventure Playground, Israac and Heeley Trust) and on their recent collaborations with the University of Sheffield School of Architecture, within the context of the Urban Education Live research project. Through this research we sought to explore ways, beyond these specific cases in a specific city, in which schools of architecture can be more effective in their contribution to local place-based urban capacity building and future resilience.
Journal Article, EDI, Participation, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
This paper focussed on highlighting the challenges faced by Community Place Initiatives in Sheffield (Pitsmoor Adventure Playground, Israac and Heeley Trust) and on their recent collaborations with the University of Sheffield School of Architecture, within the context of the Urban Education Live research project. Through this research we sought to explore ways, beyond these specific cases in a specific city, in which schools of architecture can be more effective in their contribution to local place-based urban capacity building and future resilience.
Journal Article, EDI, Participation, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
Experience Castlegate - September, 2018
Experience Castlegate - September, 2018
FoTM Speigel Latest .pdfExperience Castlegate is a research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Partners in the project are UoS academics from Archaeology, Architecture and Computer Science with creative industry and community partners, Human VR and Friends of Sheffield Castle.
Outputs from the research were showcased in the Futurecade (Millennium Galleries) for 10 days during the Festival of the Mind 2018. The exhibit was visited by 1000s of people and featured in local and regional press and TV. The project looks at Castlegate in Sheffield as a testbed to explore how immersive digital technologies can engage people in local heritage while involving them in the processes of urban regeneration.
In the Futurecade visitors experienced a 3D digital model of Sheffield’s Castle, through Augmented Reality (AR). This was the first public view of a new model of the Castle based on recent archaeological research on this hidden, yet incredibly important, piece of Sheffield’s history. The AR overlaid upon a physical model at 1:150 scale and showing the site of the Castle, and of Castle Markets, as it is now. When the model is viewed through ipads the Castle springs into view, overlaid upon the contemporary site.
Alongside the model was a film showing the digital model of the Castle, excerpts from recent archaeological archival research and future visions of the site by architecture students. This exhibit led to a lecture by Carolyn Butterworth, John Moreland and Nick Bax in the Speigeltent to 200 members of the public. Carolyn also gave a lecture to 120 members of the alumni Heritage Circle in Firth Hall on the project.
The Experience Castlegate model and AR is due to be shown at the National Videogame Museum in Castlegate for several weeks in spring 2019
Event, Presentation, EDI, History and Representation, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
Outputs from the research were showcased in the Futurecade (Millennium Galleries) for 10 days during the Festival of the Mind 2018. The exhibit was visited by 1000s of people and featured in local and regional press and TV. The project looks at Castlegate in Sheffield as a testbed to explore how immersive digital technologies can engage people in local heritage while involving them in the processes of urban regeneration.
In the Futurecade visitors experienced a 3D digital model of Sheffield’s Castle, through Augmented Reality (AR). This was the first public view of a new model of the Castle based on recent archaeological research on this hidden, yet incredibly important, piece of Sheffield’s history. The AR overlaid upon a physical model at 1:150 scale and showing the site of the Castle, and of Castle Markets, as it is now. When the model is viewed through ipads the Castle springs into view, overlaid upon the contemporary site.
Alongside the model was a film showing the digital model of the Castle, excerpts from recent archaeological archival research and future visions of the site by architecture students. This exhibit led to a lecture by Carolyn Butterworth, John Moreland and Nick Bax in the Speigeltent to 200 members of the public. Carolyn also gave a lecture to 120 members of the alumni Heritage Circle in Firth Hall on the project.
The Experience Castlegate model and AR is due to be shown at the National Videogame Museum in Castlegate for several weeks in spring 2019
Event, Presentation, EDI, History and Representation, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
Mind The Gap - live pedagogy in an era of localism - September, 2017
Mind The Gap - live pedagogy in an era of localism - September, 2017
AAE 2017 Slides Final.pptxAAE Conference 2017 Extended Abstract CB.docxA joint-authored presentation given at AAE 2017, Oxford Brookes University with MArch graduate and PhD candidate Tom Moore.
“We present this work as a reflection upon the evolving role of ‘live pedagogy’ as a critical and transformative practice that operates simultaneously in academia and in real urban contexts. The capacity of live pedagogy to empower citizens and build local resilience is apparent now more than ever as the socio-political context shifts towards co-production. This paper will explore the opportunities that our staff and students have ‘to make a difference’ through our engaged teaching and research – to build capacity within local communities, to develop effective design solutions, to open up support networks and access to funding and ultimately to facilitate the production of better quality environments.
We celebrate these opportunities while exploring the ethical and pedagogical challenges that arise from them. The ambition of co-production is to close the gap between local citizens and the structures that produce our built environment. We believe our challenge is not to merely bridge that gap but to transform the nature of service provision in the process. Universities and, in particular, schools of architecture are well-placed to become ‘agents for change’, reconfiguring the gap between communities and traditional structures as a place for innovation and transformation, a place to take care, nurture and be ‘mindful’ of possible local futures.”
This is part of an ongoing ‘live evaluation’ of our live projects and live works partnerships done via interviews with clients. students and alumni focussing on four case-studies:Doncaster, Castlegate, Blackburn & Barnsley/Dearne Valley
Presentation, Journal Article, EDI, Pedagogy, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
“We present this work as a reflection upon the evolving role of ‘live pedagogy’ as a critical and transformative practice that operates simultaneously in academia and in real urban contexts. The capacity of live pedagogy to empower citizens and build local resilience is apparent now more than ever as the socio-political context shifts towards co-production. This paper will explore the opportunities that our staff and students have ‘to make a difference’ through our engaged teaching and research – to build capacity within local communities, to develop effective design solutions, to open up support networks and access to funding and ultimately to facilitate the production of better quality environments.
We celebrate these opportunities while exploring the ethical and pedagogical challenges that arise from them. The ambition of co-production is to close the gap between local citizens and the structures that produce our built environment. We believe our challenge is not to merely bridge that gap but to transform the nature of service provision in the process. Universities and, in particular, schools of architecture are well-placed to become ‘agents for change’, reconfiguring the gap between communities and traditional structures as a place for innovation and transformation, a place to take care, nurture and be ‘mindful’ of possible local futures.”
This is part of an ongoing ‘live evaluation’ of our live projects and live works partnerships done via interviews with clients. students and alumni focussing on four case-studies:Doncaster, Castlegate, Blackburn & Barnsley/Dearne Valley
Presentation, Journal Article, EDI, Pedagogy, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
"I was so pleased to meet you in Dessau at the Fundamental school festival a few weeks ago. I’m still impressed by the work you and your students did and the inspiring talk we had."
-Hanna Petruschat, University Art and Design, Halle, Germany
Urban Rooms Network - April, 2017
Urban Rooms Network - April, 2017
URN Canvas for Community Engagement.pdfThe Urban Room Network was set up in April 2015 with Carolyn Butterworth as the founding Chair. The network’s aim is to share best practice in place-based creative community engagement and promote the value of Urban Rooms across the UK. Our definition of Urban Rooms:
“Every town and city should have a physical space where people can go to understand, debate and get involved in the past, present and future of where they live, work and play. The purpose of these Urban Rooms is to foster meaningful connections between people and place, using creative methods of engagement to encourage active participation in the future of our buildings, streets and neighbourhoods.”
On the 25th of April 2017, The Big Meet #7: Engaging Communities in Place-Making, organised by a team from Live Works on behalf of the URN, took place in UCL. The ‘Big Meet’ is a bi-annual conference, organised by the Place Alliance, who campaign for place quality along with organisations across the UK who are working in the field of place-based community engagement. 90 delegates including local authorities, housing associations, community groups, regeneration bodies, education and arts organisations attended April’s Big Meet. The event showcased a range of projects from the Urban Room Network including the Sheffield School of Architecture’s Live Works, Blackburn Urban Room and Bristol Architecture Centre. In the afternoon delegates took part in a workshop, using a Canvas for Community Engagement developed by Live Works, to understand the challenges and opportunities in developing their own Urban Room or place-based community engagement project. They were prompted to consider the ethical and practical aspects of the project in order to ensure that the engagement would be locally relevant, sustainable and creative.
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
“Every town and city should have a physical space where people can go to understand, debate and get involved in the past, present and future of where they live, work and play. The purpose of these Urban Rooms is to foster meaningful connections between people and place, using creative methods of engagement to encourage active participation in the future of our buildings, streets and neighbourhoods.”
On the 25th of April 2017, The Big Meet #7: Engaging Communities in Place-Making, organised by a team from Live Works on behalf of the URN, took place in UCL. The ‘Big Meet’ is a bi-annual conference, organised by the Place Alliance, who campaign for place quality along with organisations across the UK who are working in the field of place-based community engagement. 90 delegates including local authorities, housing associations, community groups, regeneration bodies, education and arts organisations attended April’s Big Meet. The event showcased a range of projects from the Urban Room Network including the Sheffield School of Architecture’s Live Works, Blackburn Urban Room and Bristol Architecture Centre. In the afternoon delegates took part in a workshop, using a Canvas for Community Engagement developed by Live Works, to understand the challenges and opportunities in developing their own Urban Room or place-based community engagement project. They were prompted to consider the ethical and practical aspects of the project in order to ensure that the engagement would be locally relevant, sustainable and creative.
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
Little City of Makers - September, 2016
Little City of Makers - September, 2016
‘Little City of Makers’ was a project by Live Works in partnership with Arbourthorne Community Primary School for the Festival of the Mind. Staff, students and graduates from the University of Sheffield School of Architecture helped 60 ten year olds from Arbourthorne Community Primary School to construct a model of the future Sheffield that they would like to see. We worked with the children at their school and at Live Works using a variety of materials to make the buildings, structures, green spaces and transport systems of their future city. The children suggested the themes of Play City, Working City, Animal City, Night City, Nature City and Moving City. As they build their city they have were encouraged to ask: How will the city be made in the future? What will it be made of? Who will make it? Through the Festival of the Mind the city has been exhibited to the public as it grows. The project aimed to provide a valuable experience to the children, giving them the opportunity to learn new skills and introducing possibilities for their future interests and livelihoods. If our cities of the future are to be vibrant, inclusive and sustainable places to live and work we need to include children in their design. This is a chance to develop imaginative ideas for the challenges of the future including climate change, scarcity of resources and changing demographics. Along the way we also hope to inspire the children to become the architects, planners, engineers, policy-makers and engaged citizens of the future.
Event, EDI, Participation, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Everyone teaches, everyone learns: The mutual benefits of live pedagogy - 2016
Everyone teaches, everyone learns: The mutual benefits of live pedagogy - 2016
Everyone teaches L&T Workshop Slides.pdfThe School of Architecture has a national & international reputation for live projects. For 16 years our students have collaborated with external partners in the professional MArch curriculum through Live Projects. Recently we have enhanced and expanded our learning and employment opportunities for our students through Live Works, SSoA’s new Urban Room, in Sheffield city centre. Live Works combines graduate employment on projects for external clients with opportunities for students and staff to engage the public in their learning and research. We will showcase two L&T projects that have developed via the combination of the Live Projects and Live Works initiatives. The projects demonstrate a hybrid model of learning where graduates, external clients, students and staff construct projects together. Clients and students engaged in these projects will reflect upon the mutual learning resulting from their involvement. Attendees will be helped to map and develop similar opportunities within their own curricula via a matrix developed for the session.
Presentation, EDI, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Presentation, EDI, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
A Certain Degree Of Uncertainty: Embracing Risk In The Thesis Project Via The ‘creative Survey’ - April, 2016
A Certain Degree Of Uncertainty: Embracing Risk In The Thesis Project Via The ‘creative Survey’ - April, 2016
A Certain Degree of Uncertainty - AAE 2016.pdfA paper presented at the AAE Conference at UCL in 2016.
“Over the past 10 years I have developed a pedagogical tool in my design studio, the creative survey. In this paper I suggest that this method can help students cope with, and indeed, welcome uncertainty into the design process and I reflect upon the problems, opportunities and consequences associated with this. Referring to interviews with past and present MArch students from my studio I will describe how this way of working has affected their attitude towards uncertainty within their education and within their ongoing careers in practice.I will describe how, in its development, the creative survey has expanded from a single exercise at the beginning of the design process to become the crystallisation of a broader critical methodology for the production of a thesis project that we believe has wider implications on architectural practice.
In the writing of this paper I have found the work of Helga Nowotny around uncertainty in science and social science, culminating in her book The Cunning of Uncertainty (Nowotny 2016), to be very useful and much of this paper’s enquiry is developed through the lens of her theories on the subject.”
In Sept 2016 I presented the paper to colleagues in MArch to help frame a discussion on how we might encourage more risk-taking and experimentation in thesis projects.
Journal Article, EDI, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Participation, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth
“Over the past 10 years I have developed a pedagogical tool in my design studio, the creative survey. In this paper I suggest that this method can help students cope with, and indeed, welcome uncertainty into the design process and I reflect upon the problems, opportunities and consequences associated with this. Referring to interviews with past and present MArch students from my studio I will describe how this way of working has affected their attitude towards uncertainty within their education and within their ongoing careers in practice.I will describe how, in its development, the creative survey has expanded from a single exercise at the beginning of the design process to become the crystallisation of a broader critical methodology for the production of a thesis project that we believe has wider implications on architectural practice.
In the writing of this paper I have found the work of Helga Nowotny around uncertainty in science and social science, culminating in her book The Cunning of Uncertainty (Nowotny 2016), to be very useful and much of this paper’s enquiry is developed through the lens of her theories on the subject.”
In Sept 2016 I presented the paper to colleagues in MArch to help frame a discussion on how we might encourage more risk-taking and experimentation in thesis projects.
Journal Article, EDI, Pedagogy, Placemaking, Participation, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth
You Are Here - December 2015
You Are Here - December 2015
LW Project Summary You Are Here.pdf‘You Are Here’ was delivered in three parts:• the commission of 3 site specific temporary artworks for Sheffield city centre by international artists Sans façon, Leo Fitzmaurice and The Office for Subversive Architecture• a symposium ‘We Are Here’ about art & architecture interdisciplinary practice• an exhibition at Live Works and a publication presenting the outcomes
Aims: To showcase the benefits of artists and architects working collaboratively on sitespecific socially-engaged projects, sited in the local context of Sheffield, but then drawing out lessons for practice on a national level. ‘You Are Here’ was funded by ACE and delivered in collaboration between curator Jane Anderson, Live Works and SSoA students.
Report, EDI, material cultures, participation, placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
Aims: To showcase the benefits of artists and architects working collaboratively on sitespecific socially-engaged projects, sited in the local context of Sheffield, but then drawing out lessons for practice on a national level. ‘You Are Here’ was funded by ACE and delivered in collaboration between curator Jane Anderson, Live Works and SSoA students.
Report, EDI, material cultures, participation, placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
FINAL You Are Here exhibition boards.pdfArchitecture and Resilience - September, 2015
Architecture and Resilience - September, 2015
Provocateurs or Consultants.pdfThis paper presents co-production as the means by which dialogue can be fostered and control devolved to communities, by exploring how partnerships between SSoA, SCC and local partners have been formed through recent activities in Castlegate. Opportunities and tensions inherent in this relationship are often manifested through questions about the role a university can and should play in building community resilience. Drawing on interviews with students, academics and local partners in Sheffield, the differing priorities, timescales and expectations inherent in this partnership are examined, and suggestions made, so that it might serve as a model for future co-production in urban regeneration. In doing so, the aim is to explore how work produced in academia can maintain its critical pedagogical position while still fulfilling a useful role in facilitating co-production in local communities with, and even on behalf of, local authorities.
The paper has now been published as an interview in the book ‘Architecture and Resilience’.
Journal Article, EDI, Placemaking, Participation, Pedagogy, Carolyn Butterworth
The paper has now been published as an interview in the book ‘Architecture and Resilience’.
Journal Article, EDI, Placemaking, Participation, Pedagogy, Carolyn Butterworth
Castlegate Festival - June 2015
Castlegate Festival - June 2015
LW Project Summary Castlegate Festival.pdfLive Works designed and delivered the following for the Festival:• publicity material and map• exhibition in Castle House of student design and research work for sites in Castlegate• engagement activities in Castle House using the ReMake Castlegate (Festival of the Mind) model
Aims:To make a creative contribution to the inaugural Castlegate Festival, 21-22 June 2015. The aims of the Festival were to:• provide family friendly, inclusive activities• increase footfall and engage with the people of Sheffield• promote the area and improve people’s perception of Castlegate• tell the stories of Castlegate’s history and future plans through imaginative art installations, exhibitions and activities
Report, Event, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth
Aims:To make a creative contribution to the inaugural Castlegate Festival, 21-22 June 2015. The aims of the Festival were to:• provide family friendly, inclusive activities• increase footfall and engage with the people of Sheffield• promote the area and improve people’s perception of Castlegate• tell the stories of Castlegate’s history and future plans through imaginative art installations, exhibitions and activities
Report, Event, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth
Imagine Castlegate - September, 2015
Imagine Castlegate - September, 2015
LW Project Summary Imagine Castlegate.pdfImagine Castlegate.pdfI edited a 112p book, 750 copies printed, exploring how a mix of vibrancy events and real projects are transforming Castlegate including:• work from SSoA and Dept. of Landscape• ReMake Castlegate• community groups FOTH and FOSC• Castlegate Festival & Sheffield BazaarSept. 15 the book was launched to 100 delegates at the international conference ‘Architecture and Resilience at the Human Scale’ & distributed across TUoS, stakeholders, national and international networks.
Aims: To produce a book that showcased the work done over 12 months by The University of Sheffield in Castlegate, an area of Sheffield city centre in decline. The intention was to demonstrate the value of the teaching and research that had taken place in the area, in collaboration with local organisations and community groups.
Report, Book, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
Aims: To produce a book that showcased the work done over 12 months by The University of Sheffield in Castlegate, an area of Sheffield city centre in decline. The intention was to demonstrate the value of the teaching and research that had taken place in the area, in collaboration with local organisations and community groups.
Report, Book, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth
ReMake Castlegate - September, 2014
ReMake Castlegate - September, 2014
ReMake Castlegate Culture Consortium.pptxReMake Castlegate was a project developed in partnership with Yorkshire Artspace and commissioned artists Simon le Ruez, Anne-Marie Atkinson and Clare McCormak to explore the past, present and future of the Castlegate area of Sheffield. As part of Festival of the Mind 2014 local people were invited to work with a large physical model of Castlegate, to express, record and share memories, opinions and ideas for the area. The project was hosted at Exchange Place Studios, where, over the course of the Festival, we invited local people and businesses to add to and remake parts of a large physical model, capturing what has been lost, what remains, and what could be. Over the week we had 800 visitors and saw Castlegate re-made by many hands, all revealing the area’s diversity and idiosyncrasies. The findings from the project were presented at Urban Design Week and to the Culture Consortium and SCC. The project was the catalyst for years of SSoA working in Castlegate through multiple Live Projects, Live Studios and co-production with SCC and local stakeholders.
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Presentation, EDI, Participation, Placemaking, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Living & Learning - 2014
Living & Learning - 2014
aae 2014 conference proceedings.pdfDuring the AAE conference, Live Works will be based at Union Street, in the City Centre. We aim to offer an event based around a recent research project looking at the cultural value of architecture. There will be an interactive exhibition based on workshops with members of the public looking at how they value architecture. Delegates will also be offered a Spotter’s Guide, to go out and explore some key buildings in the city centre and appraise the value of them. We hope this activity will provide an interesting counter-point and fringe event to the conference; providing a city centre orientation station and showcase how SSoA engages the people of Sheffield in its work.
Presentation, EDI, Placemaking, Participation, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Presentation, EDI, Placemaking, Participation, History and Representation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Blackburn ReMade - 2013
Blackburn ReMade - 2013
Blackburn Remade Print Final.pdf(re)create Blackburn was a Live Project by fourteen architecture students from the University of Sheffield. Between September and November of 2013 they collaborated with Blackburn and Darwen Council’s Blackburn is Open programme and the community of Blackburn. The project aimed to revitalise Blackburn town centre through the promotion of the creative industries.
Book, EDI, Placemaking, History and Representation, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
Book, EDI, Placemaking, History and Representation, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
The Cultural Value of Architecture - June, 2014
The Cultural Value of Architecture - June, 2014
LW Project Summary Value of Architecture.pdfAAE LW Workshop.ppt.pptxPart of an extensive AHRC funded ‘CulturalValue’ research project, ‘The Cultural Value of Architecture’ aimed to develop new ways of evidencing value in the discipline. Live Works were commissioned by Prof. Flora Samuel to run participatory workshops to explore how people perceive different types of value in the built environment and enrich the research through these findings.
Live Works ran two rounds of workshops with schoolchildren from Dearne ALC School.• a guided tour of key spaces and buildings in Sheffield city centre, to explore the decisions affecting the design of buildings and the impact buildings have on us• Live Works visited the school to work further with the children on their own built environment The outcomes of these and workshops with Blackburn College students informed the findings of the research project.
Report, EDI, History and Representation, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
Live Works ran two rounds of workshops with schoolchildren from Dearne ALC School.• a guided tour of key spaces and buildings in Sheffield city centre, to explore the decisions affecting the design of buildings and the impact buildings have on us• Live Works visited the school to work further with the children on their own built environment The outcomes of these and workshops with Blackburn College students informed the findings of the research project.
Report, EDI, History and Representation, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
A Live Currency: introducing The SSoA Live Projects Handbook - 2014
A Live Currency: introducing The SSoA Live Projects Handbook - 2014
A Live Currency Journal Article.pdfAt Sheffield School of Architecture, with fifteen years of Live Projects, we are reflecting upon the value that Live Projects bring to our students’ learning, skills and employability. The Live Projects Handbook is central to this, demonstrating to our students the relevance of Live Projects in contemporary education and practice. This paper describes the Live Projects Handbook, highlighting its key role communicating Live Projects as both complement to and critique of the design studio. Our students gain immediate learning from Live Projects, while using them as critical tools to reflect upon architectural education and practice. The Live Projects Handbook is an important addition to the support we offer our students in this reflective and critical process. Featuring past projects and contributions from clients and students, the Live Projects Handbook makes explicit how Live Projects can problematise and expand upon the roles of the design studio, the architecture student and the architect.
Journal Article, EDI, Placemaking, Pedagogy Research, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Journal Article, EDI, Placemaking, Pedagogy Research, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth and Leo Care
Live Projects Handbook - 2013
Live Projects Handbook - 2013
Live Project Handbook small.pdfThe handbook demonstrates the many aspects of Live Projects, combining project case-studies, practical guides to management and assessment, reflection on learning experience and consideration of the wider impact on communities, architectural education and practice. Along the way you will encounter the many voices that collaborate in Live Projects; students, alumni, clients and teaching staff. This handbook seeks to promote a ‘live’ way of learning, practicing and thinking about architecture. Working in response to the complexity of real-life situations enables students to experience the potential of research by design and to reflect simultaneously upon the processes, roles and effects of architecture.
Book, EDI, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth
Book, EDI, Pedagogy, Participation, Carolyn Butterworth