Healthy Living in Suburbia
We have based our work this year in the community of Tolworth, a suburban town only a few miles from the university in Kingston.
Our studio work has focussed on designing buildings that will nourish the community and provide healthy places to visit and dwell.
In the first semester the studio designed a lido in King Georges Field, an open green space dedicated to leisure and recreation. Our research of the local context was multi-layered and involved observational and topographical studies of the site but also involved a deeper understanding of the local community.
For our project in semester two students were asked to develop a brief to design a shelter for young homeless – ‘a place to call home’. The tight site was challenging – bounded by neighbours on both sides, with the busy A3 to the north and the train track to the south.
Designs addressed the well-being of the individual, the collective community but also the planet and the environmental challenges we face. We studied the idea of passivhaus and the importance of designing physically and socially robust structures, minimising energy use and promoting biodiversity in its broadest sense.
Our language is rooted in care and thoughtfulness. Thinking deeply about how we, as architects, can have a positive impact in our community while addressing the ever-growing issues posed by climate change.
Students
Hamza Mikou, Humza Hussain, Fredrik Dikvold, Mati Flis, Hana Kharoub, Abdalrahman Altraiji, Maxwell Greenhalgh, Charlotte Blake, Arleta Konopacka, Ivana Miklusova, Mellisa Majome, Chic So, Zakaria Farrah, Brandon Braybrook, Gulraiz Ghafoor, Liyu Lin, Stein Opedal, Dardan Isma, Kuda Mutepfa, Patricia Wu, Ezdan Bakir
Studio tutors
Tim Gough and Jim Reed
