Chapter 15
Pop-Up Buildings in the City
CONTRIBUTOR PROFILE: TONY BROOMHEAD
Tony Broomhead is an architect and founder of OS31, working with communities and public bodies across the UK to develop interactive and accessible architecture. He also teaches at the University of Sheffield School of Architecture, specialising in film as a means of representation – work that also informs OS31’s approach.
In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on the involvement of communities and user groups in the architectural process. Through a series of projects working with communities, youth groups and local authorities we have established a methodology that uses film to develop briefs and inform design work. This ‘live’ research is critical to our practice and is at the core of everything we do. We see this research as an ongoing process and our approach will continue to evolve with each new project. Methods for public engagement or evaluation are rarely included in the teaching in schools of architecture. Practices like muf and AOC combine techniques from the conceptual art world with the analytical skills of the architect to develop consultation events and games. These new methods go a long way towards making the engagement process a useful tool for architects; our research took their work as a starting point as we formalised our own approach.
Practice profile: OS31
OS31 is a newly founded (2014) collaborative micro-practice interested in responsive, adaptable and interactive architecture. The main driver behind OS31’s research is their desire to encourage debate and empower users. They believe that by doing this a more resilient architectural agenda can be developed, resulting in spaces that are focused on human interaction. The practice’s architectural research practice provides them with a mechanism for testing out ideas; they use film and other recording media as research tools at key points within projects to inform designs.
Context
In 2009 we were invited by Lancaster City Council to do a one-day workshop with a group of 14-year-olds from four diverse schools across the city as a part of the Square Routes project. Our task was to work with the children to explore new ideas for Market Square, an important and popular civic space that was due for redevelopment. We had no fixed brief, and there were no expected outcomes other than the display of any work produced at the City Library. For us this was the perfect opportunity to test and develop film-based techniques.
Approach
Philosophy
We wanted to let the youth group lead the process, by allowing them to use a medium they understood. By doing so the project could then be used to instigate debate and let the children have a genuine impact on the future of their city.
A mind-map by Lancaster schoolchildren
Methods
Our method had three distinct stages: raw footage, rough cut and final cut. These roughly map to the data collection, data analysis, and final analysis/conclusion and dissemination research stages.
Raw footage
The first – and most important – step was handing over power to the teenagers involved with the project; this was our time to listen and learn. The 20 children were split into two equal groups – one group had digital video cameras, and the other had sound recording equipment. The groups were given research questions to think about while recording, for example ‘What is good about Market Square? How do people use it?’ These open questions were just a starting point; we wanted their footage to evolve naturally. The children then spent two hours documenting Market Square through interviews, soundscapes and other methods. We were on hand to help, but not to interfere.
Rough cut
After lunch we all came together to review the raw footage, projecting the videos so everyone could get involved. It was a fun and relaxed session in which people got to chat about the films, and some values started to emerge. In this case it became about the square being seen as an event space, the importance of lighting, and how the square should link to other spaces. The group then started to select videos that embodied these values. With our help, they roughly edited together a five-minute film that expressed their agenda.
Final cut
The footage was taken back to our studio in order to formulate a visual brief. This was partly a packaging exercise in order to collate the visions that had been revealed through the rough cut, but also acted as a generator for design ideas. We combined the footage with drawings and precedent images to show the aspirations of the youth group, and to give it more impact.
Insights and Impact
The Lancaster project represents the coming together of several ideas that had evolved over a three- or four-year period. It wasn’t formally called research at the time, it was more about finding different ways of engaging with user groups. From each workshop or test we learned something, and the processes were refined. For example, while teenagers are happy to film everything, they will drift away from the point they want to make; older people may have more focus, but are reluctant in front of the camera. Therefore we learned to adjust the time frame of the workshops depending on the age group.
The youth group invited stakeholders from within the City Council, the landscape designers and the local community to a screening of the final film. We had pulled together many of the disparate views of the various bodies involved into one coherent package, and opened up the dialogue between the different stakeholders. As a result of the film the then-current proposal for Market Square was put on hold and the design approach reassessed. We were invited to work with both the Council and the landscape architects to develop a strategy for a number of civic spaces, to lead on to a wider consultation process.
This small project shows that a bottom-up approach can have an impact when issues and ideas are expressed in an accessible medium. The aim wasn’t to show that a group of 14-year-olds know best, but to allow them to have a voice and to encourage debate. We are very proud of the project and its impact, with some of the ideas from the film forming part of the regeneration scheme.
Lessons
Our agenda was to formulate an approach to public engagement, and to test different approaches. We have always seen a value in this, as we feel it keeps practice fresh and avoids us making lazy assumptions about what people want.
As architects we have a broad skillset, but in order to remain current we feel it is important to constantly explore new ways to apply these skills. Since the Lancaster project we have continued to use film as a primary means of engagement, but our methods will continue to change as we gain experience working with various groups, and as technology becomes more sophisticated. It is vital that we give time to this type of research, and we build it into our fee proposals. We justify this to our clients by showing that investing at the beginning of a project can make the design process easier further down the line and lead to better design.