New Wortley Community Housing
Leeds (UK) 2021 ongoing
BA2 architecture and landscape architecture students were tasked to deliver a new plot scheme and social housing consisting of 15 three-bedroom family houses with seven two-bedroom flats for over 55s, aiming for passive house standard to create low running costs for tenants. Following initial design work and consultation by students, this project secured £70,000 of funding, enabling an external design team to be appointed to continue design work and submit a planning application (RIBA Stage 3). Project Office was appointed technical advisor to New Wortley Housing Association Board of Directors and supported the client in identifying the grant to unlock the necessary funds as well as co-authoring in the grant application.
Client: New Wortley Housing Association; John Battle, Bob Dickinson, Andrea Edwards, Gemma Gates, Richard Goddard, Bill Graham & Maureen Ingham.
Tutor: Craig Stott.
Other facilitators: COGS; Tony Herrmann. LEDA; Jonathan Lindh. Stack Architects; Rob Bumby. Unity Housing; Wayne Noteman.
Students (BA2 Architecture): Jumana Alansara, Harry Boakes, Sarah Dawes, Jessica Fletcher, Matthew Galan, Umir Hussain, Nur Isa, Nonsikelelo Nhliziyo, Sizwe Nkosi, Myles Petcher, Shaan Singh, Joanna Sobska & Andrew Stanway. (BA3 Landscape): Alex Abbey, Mark Bainbridge, Callem Hancock-Robins, Helen Simmons, Nisha Hawkridge, Frankie Tomany, Katherine Harrison, Beatrice Freeman, Jake Tomlinson, Jupiter Yufeng, Neide Fernandes de Almeida, Ollie Loomes, Veronica Ribandeneria, Ashley Taylor, Andy Jones, Zuzanna Golczyk, Jess Whitehead & Liam McDermott.
Research Question:
Developing a Live Project model that generates funding and commissions for other architects and design professionals.
There are two major factors resulting from the project, apart from offering students an in-depth perspective to client-architect meetings (“Engaging with the client was positive. It felt like we were designing for actual families not someone random or faceless.” BA2 architecture student); for one, work generated by students was able to unlock £70,000 of funding, enabling a full design team to be appointed thereon, and two, a continuation of good relationship between Project Office and client, leading to a technical advisor role on the board of directors. This demonstrates that Live Projects initiated within schools of architecture have the potential to create work for other architects and consultants.
Link: Project Office
United Kingdom, Client-funded, Architecture, 11-50, Undergraduate, Years, Commissioned, Propositional, Curricular, Landscape Architecture, Students with tutor, Leeds Beckett Univ.
