Written by:
Louise Dennison
As I wrap up my time at The Glass-House, in my role as WEdesign Programme Manager, I’ve been thinking about what these last three years have taught me.
Coming from an arts, culture and events background, stepping into the world of design, urbanism and architecture was a bit of a shift. I have valued learning more about this sector, how things work, its unique systems and processes and collaborating with such amazing people who are doing some very interesting things in this space.
The Glass-House has created a unique space within the built environment sector, as a co-design champion, a supporter of community voice and an advocate of using creative methods to encourage collaborative thinking and working. It has truly been an enjoyable experience which has influenced my practice and changed the way I approach working with community groups.
Embrace the Iterative
Early in my role here, I was asked to ‘embrace the iterative’ which is a phrase that if I’m honest, at the time, I took a little bit of offence to. As a producer, I prided myself on getting stuff done and working at lightning speed. So being asked to experiment, slow down and to sit with uncertainty in the process, was a huge learning curve for me.
I now treat ‘embrace the iterative’ as a bit of a secret mantra. For me it’s about valuing process as much as product. It means making time to reflect, to try, to fail, to adapt, and to try again. In a world often driven by deliverables and outcomes, the permission to slow down and learn has been transformative.
Playful with Intent
Managing WEdesign has also really influenced my own practice as a facilitator and my approach to working with communities. I have been inspired by WEdesign’s methodology of being playful with intent. Through working with craft materials, I have seen how powerful a tool play can be and how using arts & craft materials offered a level field of participation, enabling even the most dubious or hesitant participant a welcoming way into the conversation. Being playful is often thought of as something silly or childish, but it is a powerful tool for engagement, facilitating even the trickiest of conversations and getting people who don’t know each other to work together and collaborate quickly.
Capture
Throughout my time at The Glass-House I have collaborated with my colleagues and created three publications and a student resource guide, which I am really proud of. This process has shown me the value of capturing and documenting the process, not just for learning and reflection, but also to share that learning with others and to celebrate the achievements of the project and participants. It’s also been a way to showcase the process and highlight moments, comments, notes and voices which might go unheard or often get lost during a fast-paced event or session.
The publications were also an excellent way of showcasing the imagery from the events, giving a sense of the vibe in the room and how collaborative conversations and ideas grew.
Partnership with Universities
One of the best parts of my job has been the opportunity to work with our WEdesign university partners right across the UK. It’s been great to deliver WEdesign in collaboration with institutions in Sheffield, Glasgow, Newcastle and London, getting to know these cities and the people shaping design education within them. I’ve really valued the creativity in these relationships and the openness of colleagues to embrace the WEdesign methodology, working iteratively to adapt it to their teaching and supporting students in having a unique experience as part of their studies.
Working at The Glass-House has been a real privilege, the projects and the people especially. I’ve been constantly in awe of the passion of The Glass-House staff, generosity of participants, the openness of collaborators, and the care with which ideas, experiences and challenges have been shared.
The Glass-House inhabits a unique space within the built environment, as an advocate for community-led design and as a persistent agitator for more inclusive, thoughtful, and people-centred approaches. At a time when community voice is more important than ever, I’m proud to have been part of that work and how it has shaped my practice.
