Despite competition from the beautiful summer weather, CLEAR VILLAGE and Demos Helsinki recently joined a good-size group of about twenty-five participants for the second of three workshops, collectively named, make.helsinki, at the World Design Capital pavilion in Helsinki, Finland.
Where the first workshop identified locations and intervention potentials, the second workshop focused on design and planning. All interventions needed to be supported by a strong concept and feasible and easy to execute, and they had to have the potential to seed future action beyond the third and final workshop on the 13th September and help ignite a spirit of participatory urbanism that inspires “ordinary citizens to participate in developing their living environment”, as the World Design Capital puts it.
The day included a fine pavilion lunch and a great presentation by Victor and Florent ofCollectif Etc. Collectif Etc are a collective of young architects from France who, since embarking on their ‘Détour de France’ in October 2011, have been cycling around France as itinerant placemakers and staging brilliant intervention projects on a shoestring budget in towns and villages along the way.
After the presentation, groups followed up their concept work by developing implementation plans to make sure that their ideas weren’t only catchy and exciting, but also realistic and feasible. When the hard work was done, each team was given the floor to explain their plan to shake up their area:
Enlighted Hernesaari – is a light installation to transform the boring and gloomy path to the end of Hernesaari into a totally different place that will invite people to explore the area.
Say it with Moss – will give local people in Itä-Pasila a chance to express greetings and messages in moss graffitis that will give the neighbourhood some fresh life and colour.
Follow the Hedgehog – is an anti-race along Siilitie (‘Hedgehog Road’) where everyone with wheels- bikes, strollers, toys on a string, and so on- will be able to leave their marks in paint.
The Service Chair / Palvelupali – will turn the single-person benches around Mellunmäki into ingenious service points that meet people’s everyday and not-so-everyday needs.
You can find out more on each of these interventions and the “makeshop” in general at //www.makehelsinki.fi
On behalf of the whole make.helsinki team, we’d like to say a big thank you to all the participants for bringing so much enthusiasm to the workshop and an equally big thank you to Victor and Florent for adding a brief ‘Détour de Finlande’ to their ‘Détour de France’. And do remember, everyone, you’re invited to join us during World Design week on 13th September in Helsinki to take part in any of these inspiring interventions!
HackMe Exibition
HAVE YOUR SAY!
On 6th September at Workshop44 CLEAR VILLAGE engaged with the Hackney, London community at Regent’s Estate to share a passion for place!
Earlier this summer we worked together with partners and conducted a number of interviews to reflect the life, dreams, and desires of residents at Regent’s Estate in Hackney. Based on the level of interest in our findings at the Hackney Big Lunch in July, we hosted the FUTURE OF REGENT’S ESTATE exhibition to present the key findings and insights and celebrate community with local art, ideas, music, and dance!
It was a fantastic night of bites, beverages, imagery, and music provided by Sweet Combination with local talents. Throughout the evening attendees built ideas, inspirations and initiatives on a photo wall and engaged in discussion on the future. Revelers also wore their favorite outfits and brought their most cherished objects to build up imagery and inspiration within the Photo Studio enlivened with a hold-up “Polaroid” picture frame!
We’re happy to have shared the opportunity for discovery and envisioning, and look forward to more transformative opportunities through the autumn.
CLEAR VILLAGE is currently hard at work engaging and coordinating with the Council of Havering and a number of local architecture and build firms, schools, retirement and elderly communities, neighborhood and other associations, and with a number of specialized partners and stake holders to finalize plans and funding for the historic, football pitch sized walled garden in Essex.
The great inspiration to revitalize the neglected garden has caught on with the local community and greater London, and our team is working hard to enable restoration work and local food and educational design labs to begin before the end of the year! There’s work to be done, but we’re in full preparation mode and invite you to support the project by sending in letters of support or by making a donation. Send inquiries to: info@clear-village.org and kind thanks in advance for your support and care!
OUT & ABOUT
PARTICIPATORY EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS:
FUTURE PERFECT
On 24th of August, Thomas presented CLEAR VILLAGE’s tactile urbanism and moderated at the Future Cities Panel during the FuturePerfect festival, exploring what’s possible and how ordinary people can create lifestyles for better personal and planetary health.
WELCOME NEW TEAM MEMBER
SAMANTHA IRVINE
Please welcome Samantha Irvine, lawyer and urban animator, to the CLEAR VILLAGE team!
Samantha is currently a Graduate Fellow in Sustainable Urbanism with the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, where she has been involved in delivering community engagement workshops in connection with the UK government’s Neighbourhood Planning Scheme and has worked on a wide range of education initiatives focused on the built environment and skilled building crafts.
Samantha is passionate about food politics and sustainability, the psycho-social aspects of design, and the intersection of land use policy and sustainable cities. She joined CLEAR VILLAGE on secondment from the Prince’s Foundation because she believes that its unique approach to collaborative design and regeneration can have a long-lasting positive impact on places and people in need.
FAREWELL SUMMER INTERNS
AMANDA MILLARD
Please join us in thanking Amanda Millard! Amanda currently studies Design at Goldsmiths, University of London. Originally from Canada, she is a multidisciplinary creative who loves to research, experiment, and create in many different areas, with a main goal of helping to improve people’s lives without causing harm to natural systems. She is passionate about sustainability and put her energy into pursuing CLEAR VILLAGE objectives within the communications and Bedford’s Park Walled Garden project among others. Her great talent and humor will be missed!
TOM COWAN
Please join us in thanking Tom Cowan! UK-born and bred, Tom studies Urbanisation and Development at the London School of Economics, and focuses on the roles of aesthetics, community and informality in creating liveable spaces. Having previously worked with on community-led housing solutions at organisations in New Delhi and Seoul, Tom conducted research on housing and planning and penned a number of reports and publications for HackMe, make.helsinki, and the Walled Kitchen Garden, while at CLEAR VILLAGE. Thanks, Tom! Well done, sir.
