The Urban Islands Project – reviving places:
The Urban Islands Project is part of an ongoing project SPACEPILOTS introduced in 2009 under the title of Unlocking the City, aiming to excite young people about their city, engage them with their environment, and to empower them to get involved in the actual shaping of places.
We are inviting young people aged 16-25 to participate in the research and development of design ideas for Urban Islands.
- A citywide survey has been run in London in 2009 asking young people about their local environment and the interventions they would like to see put in place to improve their lives. – The Urban Islands Project is a direct response to their call to create places where they can meet each other and feel safe.
We launched the project in form of a small pilot at this year’s London Festival of Architecture [LFA 2010], 19th June – 4th July 2010, in the Borough of Southwark, South London.
During the LFA 2010 we have been running a series of workshops with nine young people living in the area, exploring possible ways to detect, map and animate places through urban interventions and architectural actions.
The youngsters set out scanning the neighborhood to find overlooked spots and niches in their environment that might allow for an island to unfold and act – be it as a meeting point, a playground, a picnic corner,…
Within three weeks they built urban furniture, tested ways of mapping and learned about the process of designing in the public realm, planted seeds, created a light garden, exchanged ideas with various local experts from the fields of architecture, urban planning and lighting design, and made a documentary – working with a photographer and filmmaker during the festival events.
Visit their Facebook side to find out more about their journey and/or follow us on twitter.
The Urban Islands Pilots have been developed in collaboration and support of Anna Hillman, ITVfixers, Better Bankside, and Love your Street.
The Urban Islands Project @ LFA 2010 Invite - Pilot launch
Join us when we launch our Urban Islands Project @ The London Festival of Architecture!
Between June 24th and July 4th we will be exploring three potential places within the Borough of Southwark through a series of urban interventions and architectural action.
Pilot 01: An Investigative Study
Public questionnaire
‘what’s the use?’
Sunday, July 4, 2010, 10:00-16:00, under the bridge, 31 XTD, Ewer Street
http://www.d-dad.blogspot.com
Pilot 02: A range of events and workshops building a community space
Start: 4th July 2010: a ‘pop up’ event
Urban Living Room
Ongoing
Pilot 03: investigating the potential of the urban garden
Thursday 24th – Saturday 26th June
Pollinate – a City Initiative to propagate change…
1st meeting: Thursday at 10:00pm
Gambia Street, SE1 0XN (2 min from Southwark Tube)
Call for Participation
We are looking for a small group of 16-25 year olds to participate in a pilot project at The London Festival of Architecture in collaboration with ITVfixers, Better Bankside, Love your Street and SPACEPILOTS.
Dates:
7th June 2010, first meeting & exploration of area
19th June 2010, project start
4th July 2010 @ The LFA 2010 finale
Place: Southwark, Southbank
Theme: reviving places through urban interventions and architectural actions
Method: creative, collaborative exploration, mapping, filming, making,…
if you would like to join please contact us
About the Urban Islands project
The Urban Islands Project is part of an ongoing project SPACEPILOTS introduced in 2009 under the title of Unlocking the City, aiming to excite young people about their city, engage them with their environment, and to empower them to get involved in the actual shaping of places.
We are inviting young people aged 16-25 from all over London to participate in the research and development of design ideas for Urban Islands.
We will launch the project in the form of a small pilot at this year’s London Festival of Architecture [LFA 2010] between 19 June – 4 July 2010, in the Borough of Southwark, South London. [more details to follow soon!]
- A citywide survey has been run in 2009 asking young people about their local environment and the improvements/interventions they would like to see put in place to improve their lives… – The Urban Islands Project is a direct response to their call to create places where they can meet each other and feel safe.
- Help us detect existing or potential urban spots, overlooked and/or ignored, and revive them into Urban Islands!
As a final outcome – we will create a complete London-Urban-Islands-map that can be accessed and downloaded by everyone; and in the long run, help making youngsters experience and use their neighborhood in new or different ways.
