Poplar Union
all, cultural & creative
Bespoke shelving holds a stack of sensory play mats ready fo r use by local families
Bespoke shelving holds a stack of sensory play mats ready fo r use by local families
Housing association uses bespoke furniture and co-design to bring brand new art & community centre building to life and develop skills for further collaboration.
Co-DB was engaged by award winning housing association Poplar HARCA to create bespoke furniture to enliven and give function to this newly built community arts centre at the heart of its substantial new building scheme. Once initial phases of furniture were installed we ran a series of furniture making workshops for residents and staff to get to know each other, the new building and practice working together creating further interior elements that are used every day. The workshops were designed to build creative confidence and collaborative skills together during the early stages of their new collective venture.
Problem
Although the new building was designed and delivered to a very high standard by architects van Heyningen & Haward , the fit-out had not formed part of their scope of works and was at risk of becoming standardised and dull due to limited internal design and build capacities of the housing association, who was struggling to sign up tenants for the cafe and artists for its programming. As the new building stood empty it was causing discord amongst longer term residents unsure about what the regeneration of their neighbourhoods would mean for them.
Consultancy
We proposed a phased approach, allowing for initial work to commence quickly to show that something exciting was happening and get people into and using the building as soon as possible. Later phases would then allow for customisation by residents and staff and act as an opportunity start building the skills and experience for ongoing collaborations.
Design
The initial two phases of furniture were designed with flexibility and functionality in mind, with material choices made to maintain the high quality of the building. Storage and display needs for arts groups was a core consideration as well as elements of interaction and fun were key to creating an energetic and engaging atmosphere. These were incorporated into the all elements, ensuring future user groups could move things around and make the different space work for them.
When it came to co-produced furniture we worked with residents and staff to get to know the design process, material and making possibilities in fun hands on printing and model making workshops to ensure we all had shared experiences to help informed decision making during more in depth design discussion events.
Co-produced furniture was prepared off site and then assembled and finished by staff and residents during hands-on workshops led by Co-DB. This helped unexperienced makers build confidence in practical skills, as well as giving those with more experience from the local Men's Shed project a chance to share and put their skills to great use.
Build
Our ability to manufacture and install all the furniture we designed allowed for a quick and affordable process, while maintaining quality needed for longterm commercial use. We incorporated a range of high quality materials including birch plywood, a range of solid and veneered hardwoods, metalwork and upholstery, all with durable finishes that help cleaning staff do their job easily and building managers to maintain safety.
Co-produced furniture was prepared off site and then assembled and finished by staff and residents during hands-on workshops led by Co-DB. This helped unexperienced makers build confidence in practical skills, as well as giving those with more experience from the local Men's Shed project a chance to share and put their skills to great use.
Solution
Following our fit-out work Poplar Union has become a thriving community arts centre at the heart of a fast growing but deeply rooted community. Its thriving user groups have continued to adjust and add to the fit out , adapting the spaces they use to best fit their own needs and aspirations. The positive social impact and increased social prosperity of the neighbourhood is palpable and our early work supporting community buy-in has now been fully realised with Poplar Union transferring ownership from the housing association to the resident founded and led charity, LARG.