Written by:
Sophia de Sousa
Our October Chat, Designing Urban Rooms, was co-hosted with Carolyn Butterworth, Co-Chair of the interdisciplinary Urban Rooms Network and former Co-director of the urban room Live Works in Sheffield. Participants included academics, practitioners and urban room curators and enthusiasts from the UK and New Zealand, who shared experiences, curiosity and ambition for setting up and running urban rooms in various contexts. Together we explored the design and implementation of urban rooms to support place-based dialogue and as safe spaces for communities to engage with design, planning and development.
Key Themes
Carolyn introduced the concept of urban rooms, noting that the idea for public spaces for dialogue about the built environment were not new. The term “urban room” emerged from the Farrell Review recommendation (in 2014) for every town and city to have an urban room for community engagement. The movement of urban rooms has grown significantly since then and now benefits from a diverse network of urban rooms around the country. She outlined four core values that underpin urban rooms: being situated in the place being worked with; collective exploration of past, present, and future; the creation of safe and inclusive spaces; and using open, creative methods.
Through our conversation that followed, three key themes emerged. The first was the room itself, both in terms of the physical space and the word used to describe it. We also considered who should convene and curate these spaces, and the role of partnerships in both establishing and maintaining successful urban rooms. And finally, we spent some time talking about design and creative methods, and the role these play in both shaping and activating urban rooms.
The Power of a “Room”
Our discussion kicked off with a general agreement that having a physical space for people to connect with each other and talk about their local places was hugely powerful. A safe space where people can come together in person is essential, and this can take many forms. More often than not, urban rooms occupy and enliven underused spaces, such as empty shops, and people are generally pleased to see those physical spaces come back into use.
Whether intentional or not, the choice of the term “room” was identified as an important ingredient in shaping an environment that feels welcoming and accessible to the public. We agreed that terms like “centre” or “lab” can give the impression that the space is for practitioners, whereas the term “room” feels more accessible, welcoming and intimate. It feels domestic. As one participant put it, the word “projects a sense of what it is” or at least strives to achieve. Several stressed the importance of the space being designed with that in mind, that wherever the urban room is, it should not feel so perfectly finished and polished that people feel uncomfortable stepping into it. They should feel they can help shape it. And it should be clear that they do not need to pay to cross the threshold.
A fixed physical space, wherever it is situated, will inevitably feel more accessible to some than others. For this reason, many urban rooms have adopted strategies for also taking the urban room and activities to other spaces and places locally. Some have adopted a kind of spoke and wheel approach, with an urban room acting as the kind of headquarters to outposts. Others have developed mobile or “roaming” urban rooms or “pop-ups”, which they take to different locations. One participant shared an example of their urban room using a designed kit of parts, that can transform any space into something that is recognisable as their urban room.
Convenors & Partnership Working
One of the interesting qualities of the urban room movement is that, as well as boasting a range of physical spaces, urban rooms are also set up, managed and curated by different types of organisations and partnerships. Just within our group, we had representatives from urban rooms set up by universities, local authorities, community-based groups and even individuals. This highlighted potential differences in how people might perceive urban rooms and the role they might play within their communities. Those set up by local authorities, for example, can create an important safe space for interaction between councils and local people and groups on how a place is working and to inform local planning and development. Those set up by universities, can create an interesting meeting space for students, practitioners and communities. Community-led and arts-led urban rooms often build on and connect with other local activities and initiatives. Who convenes plays a role in shaping and in the public perception of urban rooms.
Carolyn stressed that looking across the network, the most successful and sustainable urban rooms were those built on partnership working, and ideally involving partners across sectors. This not only made them more robust financially, it also tended to make for more imaginative programming and help them extend their reach into diverse local communities and networks. Partnership working can satisfy multiple objectives and also build on the specificity of each place, bringing together different combinations of partners according to the locality. One of our group raised an interesting provocation that the current resourceful, bottom-up approach is really exciting, but in other ways, demonstrates that there is still a lack of recognition by government that dialogue around design and placemaking is absolutely fundamental to the development of our towns and cities.
Design & Creative Methods
Another key attribute of urban rooms is their use of design and creative methods, both in establishing the identity and qualities of a space, and in the curation of activities that take place there. One urban room, which had been set up by a local authority, was cited as an example of having used design very cleverly to create a distinct and recognisable brand. This meant that while supported by the council, it was seen as a different kind of space. It also helped them take activities out and about, but still make them recognisable as part of the urban room’s programme.
We also talked about the role of creative activities in making design feel accessible and valued. Collaborations with local groups and artists can help bring a richness of approaches and methods. Models and modelling can be a powerful tool to attract people into a space, and as a means of actively engaging people in spatial conversations. In some instances, urban rooms have models of the cities in which they are located, which one participant compared to a campfire around which people can gather. Others use modelling activities to explore and shape ideas about the future together. The important thing about any approaches used is to creatively activate interaction and dialogue through and about design and place.
Wrapping Up
There was a tangible energy and excitement in this Chat, with people clearly interested in enabling and participating in dialogue about how places work. It was wonderful to hear from those who have set up urban rooms in different parts of the UK and abroad, and to see those who were relatively new to this space getting excited about the potential for an urban room in their area. At the same time, there was the recognition that most urban rooms happen because a small group of people shows an interest and makes things happen, rather than there being a general consensus that every town or city would benefit from having one, whatever shape it may take. The movement is definitely gaining momentum and is growing, but we need to do more to make urban rooms commonplace.
Spotlight Project from Co-host Carolyn Butterworth
Urban Rooms Toolkit
This resource designed by the Urban Rooms Network gives all you need to know about setting up an Urban Room. In this Toolkit you can read the Stories, get the Knowhow and discover the Methods that have been tried and tested by the Urban Rooms Network
Access the toolkit here.