Group trip to Hulme Community Garden Centre:

On Day 3 of Events we are heading down to Hulme Community Garden Centre (HCGC), where we will be shown the different gardening areas of the site, and the two recently-completed, micro-architecture live projects by the university of Sheffield.

The garden centre acts as a focal point for the community of Hulme, where local residents and gardeners come together to learn about the vast collection of plants, food production, horticulture and the environment. The centre promotes independent living, health and well-being, and sustainability to its customers and local schools, all while operating as a not-for-profit organization.

The centre is organised by a motivated and friendly group of people that regularly hold activities for the local people of Hulme to come together. It’s set to be a stimulating, thought-provoking day-trip to kickstart the design process.

If you would like to find out more about his amazing space, visit their website:
https://hulmegardencentre.org.uk/

Hulme Garden Centre Pavilions

During the group trip to the HCGC, we will be taking a look at two impressive examples of micro-architecture, produced by students at the University of Sheffield.

1. The Volunteer Hub bridges the space in between two storage containers, one being used simply for storage, the other as a “mess” area for the volunteers to use. The aim was to provide an informal shelter within this space, that can be used for timber and wheelbarrow storage. The shelter uses entirely recycled, natural materials that were reclaimed from the site wherever possible. The hub features a structurally efficient timber truss that stays true to various existing structures on site, while promoting an organic aesthetic.

2. The Shade House is a fully enclosed, curved, timber structure creating an internal space for displaying plants and aquatics. It’s location is a focal point for the site on the street edge drawing many people into the garden centre. The gabions are filled with waste and natural materials, encouraging biodiversity and providing a habitat for much of the local wildlife. The structure was built using reclaimed materials with a permeable bamboo cladding.

If you would like to find out more about these projects, visit the SSoA’s Live Project website at: http://www.liveprojects.org/

Crit with the Committee

Throughout our event for Friends of Beech Road Park, we intend to involve the community as much as possible, giving the locals a role in the development of the shed proposed for Beech road park. We want to hold a constructive, informal crit with the committee, allowing the community to be involved in the entire process, giving a sense of ownership back to the locals; maximising the social value of the project.

As a group, we decided to organise a session for the Friends of Beech Road Park committee to critique the design ideas and interventions being thought of during the first week of events. The session is scheduled to take place at the beginning of week 2, and the idea is to get some feedback on initial ideas, ready for developing them further during the second week. Any changes that are required can be filtered back into the production of the final booklet that will go on display for the exhibition.

The main committee members will be present; the Chair, the Treasurer and the Secretary, as well as the head gardener Jo and our collaborator Laura. Two members from Manchester City Council will also be attending; the Neighbourhood Engagement Officer and the Local Councillor, to provide our platform for communication with the council.

Hopefully, by involving the committee as much as we can, we can ensure that the proposal is as optimised as possible - for the people that care the most.

How we met the Social Value Brief

Since our project’s inception, we have strived to maximise the positive social impact the intervention on Beech Road park will have to the local people living in Chorlton. Our aim was to consider the wider scope, how this project can have a positive effect on the gardeners, the committee and the extended community of Chorlton. We have met the social value brief in a number of ways:

- Communication; during the preparation phase for our event we have been in constant communication with our main collaborator, Laura, to ensure that our ideas and intentions fully correlate with the Friends of Beech Road Park Community committee.

- Formulating a brief in conjunction with our collaborator; we devised a brief that reflect the ideas and aspirations of our collaborators, the tool shed brief is a culmination of the needs and wants of the local gardening community of Chorlton, and is specifically designed to promote a sense of ownership for local residents. The brief encourages skill sharing and team work that should result in a strong collaboration with the community.

- Investigating local organisations; our group will be making a visit to Hulme community garden centre (HCGC), to educate one and other on the practice of gardening and it’s importance in the wider community.

- Committee involvement; by engaging the committee into the design development process, we are directly increasing the social value of the project, as the form and function of the shed is tailored towards the people who will use it the most. The head gardener, Jo, will be present at committee crits.

- Hosting an exhibition; the final output for the ‘Ready Sheddy Go’ project is an exhibition of works at the Lead Station in Chorlton, promoting social interaction between local residents, extending an open invite to the wider public, integrating the various communities of gardeners, families and students; creating a hive of social cultivation.

- Boosting younger generation’s skillsets; the project invests in younger people, enhancing their skills with a varied mix of activities and inter-personnel tasks such as presenting and teamworking.

- A community attractor; our proposal for a garden shed is focused on bringing the local community of Chorlton together, enriching the social connections between the people of Chorlton and getting them involved with gardening, advertising a new hobby that promotes wellbeing and vitality.