A proposal that will explore the intersection between equity, accessibility, and sustainable design has been named as the winner of the “Co-designing Equity in the Public Realm” design competition.
Re-Fabricate and The DisOrdinary Architecture Project will work with disabled and non-disabled youth on “Seats at the Table” to co-design spaces of sharing, making, learning, nourishment and socialising.
The results will form part of a series of installations across East London and in Smithfield that will bring people together before, during and after the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) 2023.
At the same time, they will celebrate and support the vital richness of bio- and neuro-differences, as diverse individuals create and add a multitude of chairs and other artefacts that represent their relationships to, and accessibility requirements for, enabling equal places at the table.
The competition was organised by The London Festival of Architecture (LFA), City of London Corporation and its cultural district Culture Mile, and Foundation for Future London with the aim of delivering one or more temporary public realm interventions in Smithfield and East London that collectively develop a deeper understanding of the public’s experience of streets and public spaces.
Re-Fabricate and The DisOrdinary Architecture Project will now work with the organisers on the next steps of the project including the delivery of workshops with disabled artists, young people for Special Educational Needs and mainstream schools, built environment students, and the general public.
The team will bring together disabled and non-disabled architects and creatives at different stages of their careers to make inclusive and adaptable sustainable urban spaces. The final scheme will be co-built and installed for a period of three months from April to June 2023.
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, CEO, Foundation for Future London said: “The vision that we had for this design competition was to address inequality in our society through design and placemaking and to provide an opportunity for true collaboration to achieve this.
“We are more than pleased that ‘Seats at the Table’ addressed this brief by using participatory approaches to create temporary structures to challenge ableism. We look forward to hearing the conversations that are provoked by this invention across Smithfield and East London.”
