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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Julia Heslop
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Brief Description Protohome was a collaboratively built art/architectural installation, 5 metres x 10 metres, designed as a prototype for a self-build house. It was sited in the Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne from May-September 2016 and was a collaboration between Julia Heslop, Crisis - the national charity for single homelessness, xsite architecture and TILT Workshop. Working alongside an architect and joiners, homelessness members of Crisis undertook workshops and built a timber-frame self-build housing prototype based on the Walter Segal method of building. The ‘house’ hosted events and exhibitions examining the collaborative design-build process and issues regarding housing and homelessness in an austerity context and participatory alternatives. A publication, report, website and film were also created. The work was then re-presented in the exhibition Idea of North at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead in 2018 and the exhibition Missing Pieces: A History of Homelessness in Newcastle at Newcastle City Library in 2019. Questions What role can attention to the philosophies and methodologies of participatory action research (PAR) play in bringing forth new design and build processes in housing? What is the connection between participation in design/build and the creation of social networks and learning for those that might be socially or spatially isolated?Context Despite new attention to self-build housing within academia and policy (Benson and Hamiduddin, 2017), less attention has been given to participation in housing by those in housing and/or employment need, and even less to the mechanics of this participation, including the role of power and the potential for personal and collective transformation. Furthermore, there are few physical, built precedents to use as points of reference. Attending to this, Protohome brings together the methodological and philosophical approaches of PAR with innovative participatory design-build methodologies. The project critically examines the ‘participatory turn’ within art, architecture and the social sciences, building upon the theoretical insights of Till (2005), Miessen (2011) and Deutsche (1996), the practices of artists Thomas Hirschhorn and Suzanne Lacy and architecture offices MAM Architecture, USINA and MUF. Protohome recentred the ethics, processes and impacts of participation in design-build – elements that are often neglected. Furthermore, it opened a critical public conversation into homelessness, austerity and self-build through events which engaged a range of people and institutions. Methods The methodology drew on PAR approaches. TILT and Heslop held design and build workshops with Crisis members from February-May 2016. Throughout, members made decisions on workshop activities using a cycle of planning, action and reflection (Kindon et al., 2007). For two weeks in May the group built the prototype on site. Qualitative methods, including ten interviews, ten focus groups and participant observation were also used. Five evaluation interviews took place, gauging the impact of the project on members’ lives. Overview of outcomes and impact 1,700 people visited Protohome over 37 events (film screenings, talks, workshops, artist residencies and performances) and a publication, website (www.protohome.org.uk), film and report were created. Activities created a space of knowledge exchange between group members, the public, housing/architecture professionals and the local authority. Two workshops on community-led housing were held in collaboration with local authorities and Homes England. The findings contributed to an All Party Parliamentary Group workstream on new sources of housing supply, and fed into the work of the North East Community Led Housing Network. Members of Crisis built skills, undertook qualifications, gained social networks and confidence. The work was re-presented in the Idea of North exhibition for the Great Exhibition of the North at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art the and Missing Pieces: A History of Homelessness in Newcastle exhibition at Newcastle City Library, and has been spoken and written about at conferences and events, on TV and radio and online and in newspapers, books and journals. The building is now used as a workshop and classroom at the Ouseburn Farm, Newcastle.
Designer(s): Heslop J
Publication type: Design
Publication status: Published
Year: 2016
Print publication date: 01/05/2016
Media of Output: PDF
Publisher: Newcastle University
Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne
Notes: Heslop J. Learning Through Building: Participatory action research and the production of housing. Housing Studies 2020, Epub ahead of print. Heslop J. Protohome: rethinking home through co-production. In: Benson,M;Hamiduddin,I, ed. Self-Build Homes: Social Discourse, Experiences and Directions. London: UCL Press, 2017, pp.96-114. Heslop J. Protohome. Architectural Research Quarterly 2016, 20(4), 387-389. Heslop J. Protohome. 2018. Gateshead, UK: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, 1.
