Tustin

Project
Community Engagement and Social Value

Client
Southwark Council

Project Team
dRMM, JA Projects, Adam Khan Architects, Exterior Architecture

Location
Southwark, Old Kent Road, South London

We joined forces with dRMM, Adam Khan Architects, JA Projects and Exterior Architecture on the Tustin Estate on Old Kent Road in Southwark, South London. We worked with the design team leading on community engagement and social value delivery.

The mixed-tenure, residential-led Tustin Estate scheme comprised of council homes, shared equity homes and key worker accommodation. A new primary school will also be provided along with commercial space and a new park at the centre of the estate.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

We designed a series of engagement events for Tustin Estate residents living on the Old Kent Road in Southwark. We began with a meet the team event in collaboration with Pilgrim’s Way Primary School, which is nestled in the heart of the estate. We collaborated with local artistic studio F.A.T studios to run arts activities for young people during the event, we sourced catering from local Caribbean restaurant JB Soul Food, provided live music and sports activities, all set to the backdrop of architectural design boards exhibiting the early design concepts for the estate., using cultural norms to bring the community together.

After the inaugural event, we hosted weekly drop in design sessions and design workshops, providing residents with the opportunity to engage in the design process, sharing their insights with the design team.

We organised several study trips for residents to various exemplar projects across London delivered by dRMM and Adam Khan Architects. These study-trips were designed to bring architectural design ideas to life for residents and to enable them to see a project post completion, whilst capturing feedback as to the residents likes and dislikes.

For the winter design exhibition, we hired a local steel band to perform during the exhibition, using music and culture as a way to engage residents with the plans for their community.

Designers & Makers Week
Young Resident Engagement

As part of our collaborative work with dRMM Architects on Tustin Estate, we designed a week-long Designers and Makers programme for young residents living on the estate during the October half term. The week saw us launch a design competition titled ‘Outside for Longer’, inviting those 14-25 years of age to design an outdoor community space and play area for their estate.

As part of our commitment to build upon local cultural and civic infrastructure in the communities we work, we commissioned a number of local creative organisations and practitioners to collaborate with us, including local photographer Dominic Markes, art collective F.A.T Studios and trained actors from Beloved Theatre who delivered specialist workshops throughout the week.

The young people worked with street photographer Dominic, taking to the streets with their cameras to document what the they liked and disliked about surrounding public spaces in their borough. These images were then used to create board moods to help develop their design ideas. Rachel, an Illustrator at F.A.T Studios, worked with the young designers to explore design development through illustration and sketching technics, enabling them to illustrate their creative ideas as part of the competition process.

The young people also spent a day at dRMM’s model making workshop in their Southwark studio, creating models of their designs. On the final day, ahead of their design presentations, the team explored using the principles of Actor training technics to confidently pitch their final design ideas.

All participants were awarded with a work experience placement at one of the architectural design studios, the two runners up received £50 each and the winning design won £450.

Victoria’s design approach impressed everyone she came into contact with throughout the week. Her carefully considered design titled ‘Fragmental Ego Living’ focused on green and recycled materials, planting and flowers that aimed to bring the community together through gardening and wellbeing. There was also seating which curved to encourage conversation and interaction.
Victoria also understood the benefit of multi-use play spaces, with considerations for space for girls on the estate. Victoria designed retractable nets for volleyball and other sports and thought about floor materials that would be soft but durable for young people. The design was pulled together with well lite areas throughout the estate to form a welcoming neighbourhood.
Stelly shared their ideas for an inclusive and accessible space that included seating areas to bring the community together, a clock feature that also depicted a historic timeline and evolution of the Tustin Estate over the past century, as well as climbing walls for young children and well-lit areas throughout the estate, bringing the estate to life during the night. There were also interactive planters where people could write a message with chalk that would also glow of a night and a careful consideration for animals and wildlife.
Lucien took part in our designers & makers week and impressed the panel when presenting his ideas, which included research into the history of Tustin Estate, discovering the tower blocks were named after peaks in the Lake District. Lucien also took influence from nearby landmarks and brought them into his designs, including a sheltered seating area made from recycled materials, lights and an outdoor games area for all ages.

Meet The Developer

At the request of the developer LinkCity and the Tustin community we were asked to design and produce a Summer Event, providing an opportunity for the developer to engage with estate residents who will benefit from the works. LinkCity’s sister company Bouygues, hosted their Meet the Contractor event to co- inside with the Summer Event, where locals could ask questions about the scheme and get to know those building it.