BScATY2

Exploring Peckham Through Community Engagement THIS YEAR WE set out to explore what role a designer plays in addressing racial, spatial and climate injustice; how can architectural design be a medium between communities and the local authorities and communicate inequity in Peckham? The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the power of community action and collective response has become vital for communities worldwide, whether they are affected by racial injustice, health and housing inequality and/or the climate change crisis. Our initial research included community engagement and ethnographic practices to explore Peckham. The information was then translated into a series of Mapping drawings which doc- umented the findings of the effects of coronavirus and environmental injustice. It showed that these issues disproportionately affect socio-economically vulnerable communities liv- ing in high risk areas. The Mapping output and visual documentation were presented to the local authority’s Re- generation Team, and led to early design proposals, challenging the students to design a place to facilitate community engagement. Students have been encouraged to learn through case study projects fromaround the world, such as the Baris Village by Egyptian Modernist architect Hassan Fathy and consider architec- tural responses to the extreme environments and social inequity. The final design brief for the year has been to design A Civic Space/ Community Dwelling / Public Place / Peoples’ Institution on an urban site in Peckham using architectural landscap- ing and spatial formalisation. The proposals are embedded within the neighbourhood and the community to form an integral part of everyday life, beautifying and activating a public space. These interactive methods and the findings from the local climate, context and the commu- nities, have informed the final building proposals which responded to the environmental, ecological and social aspects of the context. Image by: Velina Drakalieva