Mrs Maria Kramer

I established the Live Design Practice, a platform especially for staff and students to engage with the public and communities, fostering new collaborations and engagement both internally and externally with partners such as specialist consultants, community groups, local government, and industry. The Live Design Practice is a platform that goes across the school and engages colleagues from a wide range of courses regarding the integration of Live Projects and Community Engagement.

We interview stakeholders and see locals as area experts, a vital component of initial site analysis. This engagement process holds intrinsic value. Initiating conversations prompts locals to contemplate their neighbourhood, fostering a reflection on what they take pride in and identifying areas that could be improved, with the overarching goal being to strengthen the identity of neighbourhoods. Community engagement provides unparalleled on-the-ground knowledge and learning experience, as students need to engage with the public. Connecting with the community fosters empathy, attachment, and investment. Informed locals engaged in live developments establish a reciprocal relationship. Inviting community leaders to student reviews disrupts our 'academic habitat,' showcasing architects' diverse roles and helping students learn about the complexity of the role of an architect. It is a useful tool to engage with people, and locals can feel empowered by the process. 

We exhibiting our work within the community aims to inspire and create a community-academia platform and give students agency whilst providing better employment opportunities (Student Community Engagement and Outreach Exhibitions, Permanent Information Panel Boards at the The Growing Space, Outreach Exhibition and Panel Discussion at Waltham Forest, Engagement at Harrow Campus as part of the University of the Future Brief). The engagement process has been shared at the AAE (Architectural Association of Educators) conference, as well as with colleagues, encouraging further live engagement with communities. Stephen Brookfield’s work on critical reflection focuses on questioning assumptions, power dynamics, and existing practices. He encourages learners to critically assess their own thinking and consider alternative perspectives, making it a reflective and analytical process that challenges established norms. Critical reflection is crucial in architectural education when considering ethical, social, and environmental implications of design. Brookfield’s model encourages students to question not just their design decisions, but also the broader societal impacts of architecture—such as sustainability, inclusivity, and the use of space. 

Public and community engagement is fundamental to our profession. Empowering local communities showcases the potential for slow, bottom-up developments imbued with regenerative values. Through collaboration with local communities, participants encounter alternative worldviews that defy the short-termism often associated with our current political system. We aim to promote exemplary community/student-led projects that embed collective power in ecological localism, demonstrating that aesthetic ambition can coexist with co-production.

The Growing Space publications:

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/university-of-westmins...

https://architecturetoday.co.uk/the-growing-space/

Further information on the Live Design Practice: 

http://www.openstudiowestminster.org/beyond-studio/live-design-pract...