The Building Exploratory works in partnership with cultural organisations, artists and facilitators and the private sector to devise and develop innovative education and creative projects.
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Hackney Hoardings Project |
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Arundel Square |
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O.space |
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Portico Interactive |
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Religion & Place |
 | Treasures |
 | Memory Blitz |
Hackney Hoardings Project
www.hackney.gov.uk/sumofitsparts
Hackney Council commissioned the Building Exploratory to engage the local community in order to create an artwork to draw interest to the new Council building.
Professional artist and designer, Florian Kremb, worked with the Building Exploratory's education team and Year 9 Design and Technology pupils from Hackney Free and Parochial CE School to develop a vibrant piece of public art enlivens the area and celebrates Hackney. The young people generated ideas for the final artwork, exploring themes including their role as citizens of the borough, finding their own 'place' in Hackney, and the architecture of the new building. They met with representatives of the London Borough of Hackney and architects to discover more about the new Service Centre, and have visited the Building Exploratory and the site to collect information and images, research their audiences and develop their ideas.
The young people were part of the project team for this public art commission and were expected to keep their clients aware of their ideas and the development of the design process. This gave them greater awareness of the processes behind public art and a chance to gain valuable career skills. The final artwork celebrates Hackney's diversity, energy and creativity through the young people's design concepts. Each of the young people has a presence on the hoardings through their own silhouettes and ideas embodied in the designs, which invite you to examine Hackney’s overlooked details and delights.
This cross-curricular project was delivered with the Design & Technology department but also has links to the ICT, Numeracy, Literacy, Art & Design and Citizenship curricula. If you would like more information about this project, please contact Claire Toogood on 020 7249 4409 or education@buildingexploratory.org.uk
Arundel Square
Islington Council have commissioned the Building Exploratory to develop a community engagement programme as part of the Consultation and Engagement Strategy for the redevelopment of Arundel Square in the East of the borough. The programme celebrates the unique qualities of Arundel Square and the involvement of local communities in the redevelopment. Working with Islington Council and landscape architects remap, a launch event on 27 September 2008 invited local residents and users to discuss and map the ways they play and the pleasures they find in Arundel Square. Outreach sessions with local children, young people and senior citizens will expand on these explorations. The programme aims to involve participants in shaping the redevelopment of Arundel Square and to develop a genuine sense of ownership over this treasured green space.
O.space
O.space is a nationwide programme that will use the excitement around the Olympics to inspire people about architecture and the built environment. If you are interested in regeneration and the Olympics, you can sign-up to the O.space newsletter here: http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=2634
Portico Interactive
The Building Exploratory, in partnership with Polly Hudson Design and Steve Evans 3 Figs Ltd, recently delivered an exciting learning resource, the Portico Interactive, for the Learning Trust interpreting and illuminating the history and heritage of the Clapton Portico.
The Portico has recently been redeveloped as the City Learning Centre. The interactive was commissioned to fit in with the technology focus of the new site and help teachers utilise the rich heritage of the site for learning activity.
The finished digital learning resource illustrates the fascinating history of the Portico and the surrounding area from the Prehistoric period to the present day. A series of eight historically accurate 3D animated models take users through the development of the London Borough of Hackney. The model provides a unique way of looking at history, demonstrating our constantly changing environment and the making of history itself.
The animations and accompanying learning books are set within an easy-to-use browser interface designed by project partner The Grid. The learning books are aimed primarily at teachers and students at Key Stage 2, the main audience of the centre, though are suitable for all age groups to use for independent learning activity. They include written histories of the site within the context of the historical development of Hackney at the time, archive material, curriculum links, sources of further information and local places of relevance.
The completed Portico Interactive is now in use at the City Learning Centre and can also be viewed as part of the Building Exploratory's interactive exhibition. For more information, please contact us on mail@buildingexploratory.org.uk or 020 7275 8555.
Religion & Place
‘Religion and Place in Tower Hamlets’ offers a timely and innovative opportunity for learning about religious beliefs and practice. It reaches across faith groups and age groups enticing local communities, including religious building users and non-English speakers, to share and participate in their built heritage.
The project was developed with English Heritage to help disseminate their research, and consists of artist-led schools projects, ten works of art (‘the faith chests’), a printed map and exhibition guide, an interactive website and an exhibition based around the one hundred and sixty-seven diverse religious buildings in the borough. A successful pilot project, funded by English Heritage, took place in Spring 2004 with Mulberry School for Girls. This led to widespread support from DCMS, Arts Council England, CABE, QCA and the Architecture Centre Network.
‘Religion & Place in Tower Hamlets’ has been designed with replication in mind and the interpretation and communication methods will be evaluated and promoted nationally. The faith chests and accompanying information about the 167 diverse religious buildings in the borough are now on show at the Building Exploratory. An interactive website will launch in April.
If you would like copies of the project publications or would like more information, please contact us on 020 7275 8555 or mail@buildingexploratory.org.uk.
Treasures
‘Treasures’, a collaboration between the Building Exploratory and the communities of Newington Green, reveals the hidden heritage of the Green by seeking to inform, entice, enhance, involve, enchant and encourage both young and old, resident, trader and visitor alike.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and London Borough of Islington, ‘Treasures’ began when an initial research project, ‘building memories: a guide to Newington Green’, revealed the uniqueness of this place and stimulated a public demand for physical evidence of the past on the newly regenerated Green.
The ‘treasures,’ eleven small sculptures set into the earth around the Green, were developed through consultations, creative workshops and events with local adults and children. Each artwork plays sound clips of writings about Newington Green, in English and Turkish, recorded by local people. Bi-annual recording events will provide opportunities for generating and installing further sound clips.
Children from Newington Green School participated in creative learning activities throughout the project. This included writing and recording a poem for one of the ‘treasures’, and training as ‘tour guides before leading treasure hunts on the Green.
The Building Exploratory has published a folder of eleven ‘treasures’ postcards to celebrate the project, along with a learning guide aiming to inspire people elsewhere to develop their own ‘treasures’ projects. If you would like copies of the project publications or would like more information, please contact us on 020 7275 8555 or mail@buildingexploratory.org.uk.
Memory Blitz
The ‘Memory Blitz’ project celebrated the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War by recording the wartime memories of Hackney residents. The project was inspired by bomb damage maps and accompanying photos showing the way the war shaped the borough. It aimed to find out how people’s lives were affected by the huge disruption to their physical environment.
A series of reminiscence recording activities took place with groups of older people at local day centres. The participants spoke of how the war affected their homes, where they were forced to take shelter and how it shaped their local neighbourhoods. The sessions revealed the many ways war changed everyday life in Hackney.
The Building Exploratory also worked with a group of young people from Northwold School, giving them a chance to interview the older people about their memories. Listening to the reminiscence helped the children to imagine what wartime life in Hackney was like. They then created an artwork incorporating their own images and feelings about what they had heard alongside photos of the damage caused by the bombing.
The project culminated with the creation of the ‘Memory Blitz’ website containing excerpts and soundclips from the reminiscence sessions along with images from the war. This new resource helps everyone understand what life was like in wartime Hackney. For more information about this project, please contact Karen Elmes on karen@buildingexploratory.org.uk or on 020 7249 4409
