How do architects set about consulting the public, particularly young people? Can they go further and engage with them? Can architects work alongside them, so they are part of the doing rather than having something done to them?
Could architects take consultation to a far more integrated level, collaborating and co-designing and set up relationships with local people, where they can contribute, guide the spaces they live in and help create their own environments?
In the latest RIBA J Meets podcast, in partnership with Origin Doors and Windows, RIBAJ Rising Star Shawn Adams, of POoR Collective, talks about how to start consultation, some of its various forms and the output you should be looking for, alongside a little of his own journey. Featuring Neil Onions of Beyond the Box and George Pope of Matt + Fiona.
‘At the moment it feels like a lot of consultation is a response to commitments businesses have made…it feels like a chore from the outside looking in,’ says Adams, critical of the way consultation is viewed by the profession. ‘It should be seen as an opportunity and part of the project.’
Adams talks about his own personal calling for architecture, which from an early age went far beyond rearranging his childhood bedroom to imagining, and drawing, elaborate religious buildings and sprawling cityscapes. And he gained a sense of developing agency himself in his local area, taking every opportunity.
While still studying, members of the POoR Collective started working with a Carney’s Community boxing gym in south London to empower young people and ended up with a mural; creating something which proved important for both the young people and the nascent practice. And then there was the project based in Becontree where people didn’t just want a local project but a stake in London’s city centre, which – with the help of POoR – they got, in the form of Regent’s Park pavilion: Bringing Home to the Unknown. As POoR launches a seasonal refresh for Battersea Power Station, Adams reflects on the direction his career has taken – including taking difficult decisions about which of many options in a portfolio career he will pursue – even now he continues to work in large-scale practice as outreach lead at HTA.
This dual experience has informed his views on the importance of listening and always remembering that people care about where they live. We get an insight into how architects can reach out further than leaflets and the community hall. And, of course, how they can deal with people who are unhappy about the changes that their area is facing. ‘It is not necessarily for the fainthearted,’ he says. ‘You’ve got to have a little banter with you.’
The podcast also features guest appearances from Neil Onions of Beyond the Box CIC talking about its work at Crystal Palace and George Pope of Matt + Fiona on planning input at the right time to ensure a meaningful shaping of areas by young people, and building trust over time.
Presented by Eleanor Young. Producers Paul Hirons and Flo Armitage-Hookes, original music by Steffen Addington.
RIBAJ Meets series three is produced in partnership with Origin Doors and Windows