PG Development and Emergency Practice
Tutors: Melissa Kinnear
Guest Tutors: Sonia Tong, Zoe Jordan, Supriya Akerkar, Charles Parrack, Mike Halliwell
Students: Patricia Armstrong, Chantelle Yiu, Pramila Cox-Sehmi, Krishna Dalal, Pooja Dubey, Kubra Ocak, Rifah Rakib, Ellen Shaw, Mallika Srivastava, Lou Tooms
Development and Emergency Practice Designing within the emergency and development context requires a deep understanding of the complexity of actors and agents in addition to the physical domain. The approach to design aims to equip students with an understanding of their potential role and possible approaches that they might take to engage in this complex context. Through the research and design process students seek to develop the habits and behaviours of reflective practice: rejecting prescribed solutions and instead building the skills to listen, learn, adjust, and adapt in the conditions of complexity and uncertainty typical of the contexts in which development practitioners work. The design process was split into a research component learning from Forensic Architecture’s approach to understanding a context or event. Students were expected to make a video interrogating a context that they were familiar with and develop a research question based on their in depth exploration. From this, students then developed a theory of change which evolved into an approach to intervene as designers. This did not necessarily result in spatial responses, but through careful consideration of what the most meaningful and appropriate design approach might be, a wide variety of possible design ideas were developed.
Lou Tooms
Designing Death with Dignity
Themes: Social justice, Inequality, Postgraduate
The research investigated how memorials engage with the wider population to remember historical events and increase their sense of agency. Memorials are designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, or disaster, existing on a "constantly shifting threshold between history and memory, affect and identity, between past, present, and future" (Assmann, 2008, p.49). This project centred around The Peace Park in Hiroshima and the preservation of the Genbaku Dome after the devastation of the atomic bomb in 1945. The study explored the link between memorialisation and Elizabeth Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
The research question posed was, "How does the act of designing one’s death impact perceptions and preparations for end-of-life scenarios for the individual and their wider network?" According to the Dignity in Dying organisation, over 400 million people globally have legal access to some form of assisted dying, which means that these laws ensure dying people do not have to suffer against their wishes. In the United Kingdom, it is a crime to assist a suicide, yet people who are terminally ill still take their own lives without support from the current legal framework. This scheme imagines that if the process of assisted dying were made legal, people would experience more dignity during the end of their lives.
The guidebook, How to Design Your Living Funeral: A Gateway to a Euphoric Celebration of Your Life, was created to serve as a guide for those who have chosen to host a living funeral as they prepare for the end of their lives. A living funeral is a funeral held for a living person, which can significantly impact the psychological state of the individual and their loved ones. Recognising the weightiness of this decision, the guidebook aims to be participatory and inclusive, ensuring users have the autonomy to navigate their choices and evaluate diverse perspectives. The author then embarked on a personal journey to imagine how they would like to be remembered if faced with a terminal diagnosis.
Following the steps outlined in the guidebook, the author explored the emotional and practical aspects of planning a living funeral. This process involved considering their personal values, relationships, and the legacy they wished to leave behind. The act of designing their end-of-life celebration allows for reflection and encourages conversations and discussions about death. The guidebook's creation highlights the potential benefits of legalising assisted dying and the importance of providing support and dignity to those facing terminal illnesses. Through this exploration, the project contributes to the ongoing discourse on death, memory, and the human experience, advocating for a more humane and empathetic approach to end-of-life care.
Before and After Digital Models
Precedents of Participatory Memorials
Symbolic Narrative of Designing Ones Own Death
Guidebook
Designing My Living Funeral Sketch Perspective
Designing My Living Funeral Sketch Plan
Participatory Workshop
OSINT Investigation of Khmer Illegal Logging
This project combines architectural thinking with open-source intelligence (OSINT) skills to evidence illegal logging in Cambodia and design a development plan to manage Khmer illegal logging. Following the methodology of Forensic Architecture and Amnesty International, a covert video recording of a supposed saw mill in Prey Lang forest was geolocated and chronolocated to prove its authenticity. This formed the first part of the project; to evidence illegal logging. This evidence could form the start of further investigation which can be used in a court of law and also serves as a methodology for other architectural-OSINT investigations.
Secondly, a local program could be designed which did not just support local farmers to combat illegal logging but also supported loggers to find alternative livelihoods, which most programs do not. This program was based upon the findings of the previous research which identified a lack of infrastructure and reliable income for local residents of Prey Lang forest. The major problem for the program was Khmer government corruption, which facilitated illegal logging. Several programs were chosen that not only avoided government bribery but were also encouraged by the government. These included incentivising sustainable forestry and developing eco-tourism to generate income and demand for natural products such as rattan. Furthermore, the project considered the current Khmer timber export market and proposed a partnership between large international tyre and furniture manufacturers, to accredit sustainable forest products. The project is on a flexible timeline which considers capital investment for training and eco-tourism infrastructure, frequent reviews and a reduction in charitable income as the program becomes self-sustainable. Over the course of 20 years, Prey Lang forest should become a safer and more environmentally rich place for both residents and visitors.
Chantelle Yiu
Themes
Environment, Sustainability, Social justice, Innovation, Postgraduate
Wethersfield Asylum and Rewilding Estate
Pramila Cox-Sehmi
Themes: Environment, Social justice, Inequality, Humanitarian efforts, Postgraduate
How can someone who cannot work and cannot travel far, have the opportunity to feel a sense of purpose and freedom?
Wethersfield RAF Base is currently being used as asylum seeker housing. The poor conditions, amenities, healthcare and running of the estate is affecting the physical and mental health of residents badly. The research video proves that not only is the treatment of asylum seekers here dehumanizing, it is also breaking the Home Office’s own rules. This project is a strategy for how Wethersfield Asylum Estate could be run, with the collaboration of existing stakeholders (who will benefit from the scheme) to create a welcoming space filled with opportunity and community.
The research section of this project is presented in the form of a video. Synthesis of multiple reports and interviews are used to follow the events at Wethersfield since asylum seekers were first moved in, in July 2023. As there are no publicly available plans of the ex-RAF base, photographs published by news sources and satellite images were used to reconstruct a digital model of the site and the residential rooms within it. The Home Office plan to house 1700 single males on site at full capacity. The model is used to show that the Home Office would be breaking it’s own rules on minimum housing standards. The research shows that, as well as the physical overcrowding, the way that the estate is currently run and the government’s attitude toward housing asylum seekers is leading to the downward spiral of wellbeing for asylum seekers. The following design strategy aims to rethink what asylum seeking could look like, specifically on this site, and how it could benefit residents, neighbouring residents, existing stakeholders, and the environment.
The model is based on three main pillars: food, mobility, and education. The RAF Base is an 800-acre site and sits directly next to Essex Wildfell Centre, a rewilding and education centre. The rewilding scheme works in tandem with the asylum seeker cycle and education schemes to create a better space for the physical and mental health of residents. The strategy uses the stakeholder’s guild to offer a set of programmes that residents can join voluntarily during their stay, providing structure to the site, time, and community. Programmes include the kitchen garden, rewilding programme, cycle repair shop, English and other classes provided by RAMA and sharing skills and knowledge with fellow residents. Designing this strategy is just the first stage in what would be a participatory programme. A participatory assessment plan has also been designed to ensure a bottom-up approach to this evolving design. The Theory of Change shows how these initial small changes aim to lead to the much larger and less tangible goal of creating the opportunity for asylum seekers in the UK to feel a sense of freedom and purpose.
