Co-hosted with Elisa Engel & Katherine Leat, Citizen Architects
People crave spaces to connect with each other, and the appreciation of the third space is growing. Defined as a social environment outside of your home (first space) and your workplace or school (second space) a third space is an informal space where people can gather without the pressures of domestic or professional life to relax, socialise and try new things. When a third space is neither commercial nor too tightly programmed, it can potentially offer even more to communities.
For Designing Third Spaces, we are joined by co-hosts Elisa Engel and Katherine Leat of Citizen Architects, who will share her experience of the First Fridays Society at Old St Leonard’s Hall in Exeter, a space where people gather with the sole purpose of being with others. Together, we’ll explore the importance of welcoming physical places where people can meet in person, and the potential to reimagine and repurpose underused buildings and spaces to create them. Join us at our first Chat of Series 7 to share experiences and ideas for Designing Third Spaces.
About Glass-House Chats
Glass-House Chats are monthly hour-long online spaces for conversation and connection, to ask questions and explore ideas, approaches and methods, share learning and meet others.
Once again, Series 7 sees us collaborating with a range of inspiring people and organisations who will co-host sessions with us. Each guest co-host will help us bring focus, expertise and experience to conversations about different aspects of the design of places. This year we’ll be looking at design in a range of contexts, including community farms, urban rooms, place-based networks, higher education and development. We’ll explore the role of enabling, engagement, third spaces, making, policy and community panels.
About our Co-hosts
Elisa Engel and Katherine Leat are directors of Citizen Architects, an Exeter-based practice that helps local authorities, not-for-profit organisations and individuals create the conditions for communities to meaningfully shape their urban environments. They met while studying under participatory design pioneer Nabeel Hamdi at Oxford Brookes University’s Centre for Development and Emergency Practice. Katherine’s experience includes working for Article 25 and as a Design Advisor at the London Legacy Development Corporation. Elisa has worked with Architecture for Humanity in Botswana and now teaches co-design at the Kunstuniversität Linz, Austria. The practice also runs Old St Leonard’s Hall, a community space in Exeter.
How to Take Part
Glass-House Chats are open to anyone with an interest in the event topic. No specific experience or expertise is required to join the conversation. We believe that our Chats only benefit from a wide mix of voices, interests and experiences.
These free online events are kept intentionally small so that everyone taking part can jump in and join the conversation. Where possible, we encourage participants to keep their cameras and microphones on, to pose questions and ideas, and to share stories and links.
To create a safe space for open discussion, Chatham House Rules are applied. Key discussion points are collated, anonymised and shared on The Glass-House Blog after each session.
How to Book
Glass-House Chats are free events, but places are limited, so please register only if you plan to attend.
Book your place here.