Studio Bark

As the built environment faces an escalating imperative to transition, straw buildings present a compelling option for natural, bio-based building, writes Thomas Bennett from Studio Bark in a comment piece for BE News.

Never have I experienced such a cared for public space. The sense of kinship is palpable from East Quay Arts Centre and the town of Watchet itself - there is a genuine warmth and shared humanity. Upon participating in the Festival of Community MaKINg this weekend, I was able to witness the emotional infrastructure East Quay Watchet and the Onion Collective have created with the people of Watchet. You can't help but want to pitch in. From someone casually jumping behind the café counter to help with washing up, to others taking the time to tidy up after events—it’s clear that this space is more than just the building itself. As I sat amongst the audience on Saturday evening, listening to how the building came to be, the man next to me began to cry—brimming with pride for the Onion Collective who made this happen. Projects like this are often unimaginable, and their realisation is an outlier. But visiting East Quay reminds you that it *is* possible (with a great deal of determination). This is what architecture needs to do. It cannot alone solve the problems of the world, but if developed compassionately with communities, it has the potential to multiply our circles of care. In the words of Becca Thomas from New Practice, I am coming home from this weekend with a very full brain. I could go on and on about East Quay, but really you need to visit yourself. #CommunityArchitecture #FestivalOfCommunityMaking #EastQuay #Kinship #RegenerativeDesign #OnionCollective McCloy + Muchemwa Bongani Elton Muchemwa Steve McCloy

Meet tonight's speakers for our StuCAN 24-25 Launch! 🗣 Join us to hear a fantastic range of speakers, including Thomas Bennett from Studio Bark, alongside students from three student climate action groups: MACK CAN, BESCA AND ESALA! We'll be sharing our hopeful vision for the future of student action, how to be an activist, and what it's like to get involved in StuCAN! See you there! 📅 Date: TONIGHT - Thursday 17 October @ 18:30 BST 📍 Location: Online - book your place via Eventrbrite - link in comment

How might we close the gap between communities and architecture? This important question is at the heart of this year's Festival of Community Making at East Quay Watchet - a celebration of community-led architecture. Happening THIS weekend, I’m really excited to be part of this alongside inspiring practices like Invisible Studio, PEARCE+, McCloy + Muchemwa , and New Practice. 📅 October 18-19 📍 East Quay, Watchet Studio Bark will be involved with a series of events and workshops across the weekend: 🗨 A Guide to Community Architecture: A Panel Discussion ⏰ 18.10.24 - 7pm A participatory panel conversation about how we can break down barriers between the architecture profession and the communities they serve. 🦋 Community Making Workshops ⏰ 19.10.24 - 11am-3pm Studio Bark will be leading the Minibeast Mansion workshop, where children will design ‘apartments’ from the perspective of different invertebrates. These apartments will be assembled and interlocked into a small U-Build structure, left behind as a permanent shelter and habitat—a fun, hands-on exploration of co-housing for beings beyond just humans! (Drop-in session) 🏡 Ask the Expert: Architecture Speed Dating ⏰ 19.10.24 - 4pm-5pm An opportunity to ask the Studio Bark and other architects, anything you want to know about your own build, project or ideas. You’ll have 10 minutes dedicated time to your project within the session. (Booking required) Looking forward to thoughtful and empowering conversations! More information can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eUam79-j

What a night! And where to begin?! From Brian Eno's literal 'money cap' to philosopher Roman Krznaric teaching us how to be a good ancestor, to Michael Pawlyn threatening to really eat his hat, to dancing to a set by DJ Alasdair Ben Dixon, to Lawrence Bates telling us about the fantastic work the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary is doing, and to Julia Barfield somehow balancing a regenerative forest on her head! Safe to say it was incredible fun to launch the inaugural #RegenerativeArchitectureIndex with UK Architects Declare. A huge thank you to our launch sponsors Interface for its support and belief in the RAI, and to Fabrix for hosting us at The Bottle Factory. We will posting a lot more about the RAI – so stay tuned to find out how you can get involved and discover what opportunities this new network for regenerative practice can bring. #regenerativedesign #regenerativearchitecture And of course, congratulations to all the practices that took part in the inaugural RAI: AEW Architects, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architype, Archmongers, Assemble, AW W, BDP, Bond Bryan Architects, Buckley Gray Yeoman, Cairn, CAO, Coffey Architects, Collective Architecture, Collective Works, dRMM, ECD Architects, Elliott Wood, Exploration Architecture, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Gale & Snowden Architects, Grain Architecture, Hawkins\Brown, Haworth Tompkins, HLM Architects, Hopkins Architects, Howells, Human Nature, JTP, Knox Bhavan Architects, LOKI, Map Architecture, Marks Barfield Architects MATT+FIONA, Max Fordham, MICA, Mike Tuck Studio, Miltiadou Cook Mitzman Architects Morrow and Lorraine, Nested Living, New-works, Optimised Environments (OPEN) Orms, PAD studio, Pamphilon Architects, Perkins&Will, PLP Architecture, Project Orange, PRP, Purcell, RDA Architects, Richard Weston Studio, Ritchie Studio, Rock Townsend Architects Sheppard Robson, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Stanton Williams, Studio 8FOLD, Studio Bark, Studio Knight Stokoe, Studio Multi, Tate+Co, Tonic Architecture, Tonkin Liu, tp bennett, Useful Simple Trust, We Made That, White Arkitekter, and Worldchanging Institute!

Our competition proposals for St. George's place local people at the forefront of a uniquely collaborative design process. We have spoken to many people in this proud city, and they have contributed their local expertise and ideas. We have engaged local businesses and charities, and demonstrated how local people can play an important, multi-faceted role in its delivery and subsequent evolution – making St. George’s a People Powered Place in perpetuity. Our emerging plan has been crafted around the needs of local people. Their ideas see a revitalised St. George’s at its heart, creating a vibrant public focal point which sits at the convergence of all routes, stitching the church back into its city. Social structures - benches, conversation pits, bus stops, threshold canopies – are spread throughout the site and beyond. These will be designed in collaboration with local artists, adopting Wolverhampton’s amazing colour palette, and built with local apprentices from the Regeneration Brainery. The emerging scheme re-uses material from the existing Sainsburys within select buildings and the surrounding landscapes. Wolverhampton’s Reuse Hub will also help us source material from further afield. Even our competition model was made from repurposed Wolverhampton timber.   Made In Wolverhampton, Made By Wolverhampton, Made For Wolverhampton.   Whatever happens when the result is declared this month, we feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to take part in such a wonderful project, with a like-minded client, inspired contributors, and amongst such esteemed practices.