Social Constructs aims to ask questions about the processes of building, working together on the construction site and creating healthy working relationships.
In this post we explain what we aim to do.
The Goonown Community Barn was Social Constructs’ first project, at this point working informally as a community of female builders.
It developed starting from @goonowngrowers ' desire for a community space to share their knowledge around organic growing methods, and a very much needed outreach to the local community, as shown by @socialdesigns_ participation event.
The project was funded by FiPL and developed over the course of the summer of 2023.
We worked together with the end users to choose materials, natural or second hand (from @_recollective_ ), or what we could afford!
We opened the site up for volunteers, to be with us for a day only during a Women's Volunteering Day, or for a few weeks, providing career-changing training.
More to come on this project!
Social Constructs - a new trading name of Social Designs CIC - has been coming for some time.
Following on from a number community-based design and build projects we put a formal flag in the ground after winning a tender for a construction contract.
We’re interested in defining alternative ways of working in construction, approaching live construction sites as fields of research and education - investigating the industrial ecosystems that make them what they tend to be.
Logo hand drawn by @carysboughton
After the community consultation, the next event in our collaboration is a workshop nested within the materials audit of Kreft Maker Space, from 1.30-4.30pm on April 29th.
If you’d like to get involved then ping an email to; [email protected]
Social Designs, ReCollective and Newquay Orchard are working together to bring Kreft Maker Space back to life.
We’ll have more details for you on the events in the video in the coming days, plus further events involved with the redesign, deconstruction and reconstruction of the building.
Stay tuned and lots of love x
Upcycle Kernow Retrofit was highly commended for the MacEwen awards and we are very proud to have lead its construction.
🛠 Social Constructs team explored working practices of an inclusive site, implementing strategies for holistic well-being and fair working conditions, to welcome workers and volunteers from different backgrounds and with different needs.
This, whilst being subject to conventional contract structures and the conditions that come with it.
🗜 This project, in contrast with others our female-led team has completed, attends to a key research question for us: how do we build cultures of trust within the built environment’s delivery system whilst it is loaded with anti-trust mechanisms?
🔩 We worked really hard alongside the client Upcycle Kernow and the architect Crow Architecture to salvage as much as possible from the demolition of the existing building. We tapped into our broad network to borrow, reuse, refurbish materials and tools, which allowed us to reduce our environmental impact and overall building costs.
Feature article by Flo Armitage-Hookes on the @ribajournal - link in bio!
Client: @upcyclekernow
Architect: @crow_architecture with Lane Architects
Structural Engineer: @form.consulting
Cost Consultant and Principal Designer CDM: @pinkpebbleconsulting
Principal Designer BR: Crow Architecture
Contractor: Social Constructs
This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Photos by @terminal__ordinal David Prior
THE NORTH ACTON VILLAGE HUT IS COMPLETE !!
We have recently handed over The North Acton Village Hut to @therepublicofparkroyal to be used by the local community of North Acton and beyond. After a big push initially constructing and assembling the straw and reclaimed timber cassettes, we’ve spent the last couple of months adding multiple layers of lime render, clay plaster, clay tiles and timber joinery, all in time for the colder months.
We’ve been very quiet whilst completing the hut, but are excited to share lots more on the process over the next few weeks!
YO. The hut has flown up, just 2 days— and the main structure is already standing. 🌾 with @_social_constructs_
Building the cassette panels in the workshop meant rapid assembly on site of low carbon construction blocks. By the end of the week, it’ll be almost complete.
Big shout out to all our support and volunteer help from our community, people make ReCollective and it couldn’t have been done without you and it’s been such a pleasure to share the process and learning involved ✌️
(Link to join community in bio, we need your help!)
Huge shout out to exhaustive work by:
@trokko_@harrymjohnson@francescarausa__@walthamstowwoodworks
🌾 🐷 🏠 🧱
LDF25 Highlight — North Acton Village Hut - ReCollective & Social Designs & Social Constructs
@_recollective_@socialdesigns_@_social_constructs_
LONDON DESIGN
FESTIVAL
+
PARK ROYAL
DESIGN DISTRICT
SAT 13 - SUN 14
September
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Join ReCollective, Social Designs and Social Constructs in the construction of the North Acton Village Hut - a centrepiece in the new artists village at North Acton Square. Taking a ‘material first’ approach, this is an exemplary project for what we call ‘anticipatory design’ - an approach to architectural design where the materials available predicate the design of construction systems.
The hut will be finished with natural building techniques including lime render and clay plaster, working with Rescued Clay, also based in Park Royal, to process waste clay from an HS2 site adjacent to the square, into usable clay for construction purposes.
—
See the full programme...
LINK IN BIO
or on
ParkRoyalDesignDistrict.com
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#parkroyaldesigndistrict #LDF25 #LondonDesignFestival #ThingsToDoInLondon #Design #ContemporaryArt #SustainableDesign #LondonMakers
Makers having all the fun on this project.
Testing clay bodies and manufacturing lines for ceramic tile cladding, made with earth extracted during ground works for the buildings they will eventually adorn, to be fired on site in a solar-powered electric kiln.
At Innovation Nursery for @coldframebeer ‘s new brewery.
