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200729 Collaborations Wanted Indoor Garden mivima studio WANTED: COLLABORATIONS Project: Public Indoor Garden w/ Private Mixed Use Notes + Thoughts Acquire property (preferably in an urban or semi-urban area) to convert into an indoor garden with retail / art / exhibition / event spaces. The primary program (function / use) would be the garden and public space. The secondary program might include a combination of small local retail, exhibition space, coffee shop (concessions), and/or workshops. While the latter might be secondary program they quite possibly might be primary revenue, which in turn supports the public indoor garden. I’ve read about models where the cost of rental retail spaces is variable. A more established, larger business may pay more to allow a smaller, fledging business to rent and gain momentum. In time, the then-smaller business-now-larger may provide the same “service” to a newcomer. After studying the precedent of the Granby Winter Garden by Assemble Studio, the approach and mission could be dealt with similarly or much differently. Meaning the garden could be run as a non-profit community space or it could be run as a for profit business. What “goes inside” as secondary program (function / use) could help determine the business structure, as stated above. The secondary program (concessions, exhibitions, workshop) would be location and community dependent. This idea was conceptualized as being in Michigan. Given the bleak winter weather an indoor garden space with green foliage and a temperate environment could provide a great seasonal respite. But the , with a creative and thought out approach to the building envelop the idea could be adopted for any climate. The imagined scale of the space is on the small to medium size, but ultimately depends on buildings and funding available. Questions of how this public space is received and felt to be equitable in its approach needs to be addressed. The Granby Winter Garden is public but located in a multicultural neighborhood with a population vulnerable to gentrification and rising housing costs. The garden is part of a Community Land Trust. The neighborhood, deservedly, feels the most entitled to this public space, although they do not exclude others. This proposal for a public indoor garden is not to be located in a high income single-family neighborhood (but thinking about the various cities, this line is not always explicit; ex: Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown, which is both a part of the city’s downtown but includes high cost homes for both sale and rent). Work could be phased? 1/5 mivima studio WANTED: COLLABORATIONS Precedent: Granby Winter Garden Contributors: Assemble Studio + Granby Four Streets CLT Project Description Derelict terrace houses (known as row housing in the US) that have been converted into a shared garden that is open to the public. It houses an indoor garden space, meeting + event space, and accommodations for artists in residence. This project is part of a collection of collaborations between Assemble and Granby Four Streets CLT. “Assemble’s design strategy for the Winter Garden sought to transform the typically private space of the terraced home into a focus for neighbourhood activity; an unexpected indoor garden and unique resource for creative community action, cultural production and exchange.” Funded By: Arts Council England’s Small Capital Programme, The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, The Granada Foundation, P.H. Holt Foundation, People’s Health Trust, and Veolia Environmental Trust. Maria Brewster, Fundraising + Arts Advisor Built By: Merco Developments https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/granby-winter-gardens https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-de- sign-blog/2015/may/12/assemble-turner-prize-2015-wildcard-how-the-young-architecture-crew-assemble-rocked-the-art-world 2/5 mivima studio WANTED: COLLABORATIONS In 2011, Granby residents entered into an innovative form of community land ownership, the Granby Four Streets CLT with the intention of bringing empty homes back into use as affordable housing. Steinbeck Studio Granby Streets Assemble Studio social investors Community Land designers Trust (CLT) land / property owners 10 empty properties ...being refurbished to Assemble’s designs, with the help of local apprentices, in a strategy that makes the most of what is already there, celebrating the generous ceiling heights and big windows of the existing structures, in comparison to the mean-minded hutches that have been built in the tabula rasa approach nearby. “Assemble are the only ones who have ever sat and listened to the residents, and then translated Phase 1: their vision into drawings and 10 Houses on Cairns Street models, and now into reality,” says Erika Rushton, chair of the community land trust that has been working with the designers during the last couple of years to bring these neglected houses back to life. It is a moment that has been Phase 2: sorely awaited. Since the 1981 riots, which saw buildings torched Granby Workshop and 500 people arrested, Toxteth has suffered from decades of “managed decline”, with life inexorably drained from its streets. Eleanor Lee has lived here since 1976 and seen most of her neighbours leave.” Phase 3: Granby Winter Garden 3/5 mivima studio WANTED: COLLABORATIONS Firm Profile: Assemble Studio Near London What is the stated mission and vision of the company? Assemble is a multi-disciplinary collective working across architecture, design and art...retaining a democratic and co-operative working method that enables built, social and research-based work at a variety of scales, both making things and making things happen. What does the company offer or sell? How does this align with its vision? “...built, social, and research based work at a variety of scales.” No mention of Design Services or how to initiate work with them other than General Inquiries. Many projects are performative (the process and product) and/or temporary. Making, making of, making do. How did the company start? Started in 2010 in order to self-build a project (The Cineroleum) What direction is the company going in and what is the vision for future services / products? From The Guardian in 2015: “It still exists in the small bubbles created by regeneration schemes, where opportunities arise from delays in development or morsels of funding set aside for creativity.” As of 2014, okay with current size and not looking to grow. How is the organization structured internally? Collective;co-operative. As of 2014: 12 full-time, some part-time, no interns or “Part 1s; they can’t imagine taking on anyone who wasn’t one of the original.” As of 2015 there were 16 members, none “fully qualified architects,” ages range from 26-29. What is the culture of the organization? Collaborative; self-aware (“They remain cautious that an art prize (Turner Prize) could make their work ‘into something bijou’.”); socially + community minded; focus on making. No individual team members or leadership listed on the website. As of 2016, members only get paid for the projects they work on. Two to three members have to agree to take on a project, and then they become the ones to run the project. There are weekly project reviews were every member can provide feedback + critique. They do employ someone who runs the finances (who is not involved in the design of the projects). Where do people work before joining the company? Where do employees typically go when they leave the company? Some went through architecture schools, others did not. Seems most still work there. Lots of giving lectures both in the UK and abroad. How is it funded? Is it financially secure? Seems to depend on the project. Projects range from publicly (non-profit?) funded, to traditionally commissioned, to those that are self-funded. From The Guardian: “There is something palliative about the way that outfits such as Assemble are given a license to create delightful moments of public space, but kept away from the decisions that really shape cities....its ideas could never thrive in a climate as purely profit-driven as the present.” When asked in 2016 if the model is sustainable + if they make enough money, they replied, “just about.” What revenue streams does it include? Two arms of the business, the practice and the rented workspaces exist under the umbrella Assemble Studio. Granby Workshop is the ceramics studio and shop which sells products; Assemble helped design but not sure how they fit into it if at all as a business partner and thus profiting. Whose doing similar work? Sibling Architecture in Melbourne, Australia - http://siblingarchitecture.com/ https://assemblestudio.co.uk/ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/nov/29/assemble-architecture-collective-london-turner-prize https://www.ribaj.com/culture/assemble-built-to-last https://www.sightunseen.com/2017/03/assemble-a-turner-prize-winning-collective-sets-up-shop-in-brooklyn/ https://architectureau.com/articles/model-practice/ 4/5 mivima studio WANTED: COLLABORATIONS Firm Profile: Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust (CLT) Liverpool What is the stated mission and vision of the company? “Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust wants to create a thriving, vibrant mixed community, building on the existing creativity, energy and commitment within the community, where people from all walks of life can live, work and play. Our vision for Granby Four Streets is a neighbourhood which: Has streets full of plants, creating the greenest quarter in the city. Is architecturally rich, with imaginative renovations of Victorian terraces. Is a thriving multi-cultural, multi-racial area. Is sociable, safe and welcoming. Has an arts and social hub with a community café. Continues to organise and further develop its own monthly market.” What does the company offer or sell? How does this align with its vision? Doesn’t sell anything because it is a Community Land Trust. But it “delivers housing and other community facilities at permanently affordable levels for local people.” How did the company start? Economic decline in Britian in the 1970s hit the Granby triangle hard.
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