Old Manor Park Library and the White House Dagenham
Two building projects addressing questions of community, reuse, design and procurement models for existing public buildings in a context of reduced state funding and a problematic construction industry.
- Submitting institution
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Kingston University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 32-16-1675
- Type
- L - Artefact
- Location
- London, U.K.
- Open access status
- -
- Month of production
- -
- Year of production
- 2015
- URL
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https://www.whitehouseart.org/
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
-
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Old Manor Park Library (2015) and The White House Dagenham (2016) are two interrelated research outputs co-authored by Lobo Brennan and Smitham. They were commissioned by the Greater London Authority, London Boroughs of Newham and Barking and Dagenham, and Create London. Located in deprived areas of East London, they address questions of community building, reuse, design and procurement models for existing public buildings in a context of reduced state funding and a problematic construction industry.
The outputs are the result of research conducted by Lobo Brennan and Smitham through Apparata, their architecture, design and research studio. Building on their previous experiences in academic research, they employed a range of research methods. The architects established a construction company specifically for the commissions, in order to explore and take control of industry dynamics and realign these in favour of local communities. Furthermore, for Old Manor Park Library, they set up a temporary design studio on-site. Collectively, these approaches facilitated participatory techniques, large-scale experiential models, responsiveness to context and the efficient use of limited finances.
The resulting buildings share a spatial model that enables close proximities and meaningful interaction between private studio holders, artist residents, the public arts spaces and local community, via formal and informal meeting spaces, and varying degrees of privacy and transparency. Both interiors are also adaptable and speak of their adaptability, with a clear legibility of structure/infill and multiple uses allocated to elements – for example, a wall is also a shelf for storage, and is also a glass display cabinet.
Operating through active events programmes, the buildings have been disseminated through publications and talks, and the inclusion of Old Manor Park Library in the 2019 RIBA exhibition Making It Happen: New Community Architecture, Architecture Gallery, Royal Institute of British Architects, London, 30 January–11 May 2019.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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