05themes,

and eight projects, by

studio polpo

prepared for: The Architecture Foundation The Finnish Institute in London Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo

01_ the Drawing Shed

_ Printbike

Background

The Drawing Shed is a project initially conceived by

artists Sally Barker and Sally Labern as part of the

London ‘Be Creative, Be Well’ programme. This was

managed and funded by the Arts Council, to commis-

sion creative activities and arts that would bring de-

prived communities in ‘Super Output Areas’ together,

promote healthy activities and improve local environ-

ments.

Why a shed?

The Drawing Shed was conceived as a space that

would enable people to draw, particularly adults who

had maybe not drawn since school, or those who

would say “ I can’t draw” if asked. The space was to

be a non-threatening and neutral space but one that

was different enough for workshop participants to feel

they were in a special place where drawing was fine and

expected.

The ‘shed’ had to be stored in an empty garage and

moved around to different venues, some indoors, (the

Walthamstow YMCA for example) some outdoors

(Walthamstow flats common) and accessible by a

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artistic intervention

wheelchair user. There was also a very limited budget

and the structure needed to be built locally with readily

available, and easily workable materials.

What we did

Studio Polpo created a wheeled box that, when closed,

was able to fit through a domestic door, yet opened up

to create a larger enclosure. The box was painted with

blackboard paint and mounted on heavy duty castors.

The Power of the shed

The Drawing Shed was very successful in stimulat-

ing the curiosity of the communities and groups that

encountered it, often children would bring parents and

families would doodle and draw together in a space

removed from the ‘normal’ world. The young men

staying at the YMCA, often seen as aggressive and

troubled, spent long periods of time drawing and these

drawings prompted conversations with the artists, the

men of the YMCA often opening up and talking about

personal issues and incidents from their past.

The act of moving the Drawing Shed from location to

location added to the theatre and sense of intrigue and

the physical challenge involved would often draw in

passers-by who would offer to push it.

Evolution

Following initial workshops it was felt that the internal

height of the box was too low and that an increase

in height (although preventing use indoors) would be

beneficial. The box was also designed to operate as a

kiosk, bar, or shop and this is something the artists aim

to try in later workshops.

The Drawing Shed has also been used by another artist

to host a mini museum, where children from one of

the estates in North London have displayed prized

possessions on purpose made OSB plinths and boxes.

Future Plans

This project has had an enormous impact relative to

the time and money invested in the structure itself,

primarily due to the energy of the artists involved, and

its use continues to evolve. The artists are now consid-

ering the Drawing Shed 2, a lighter and more crafted

object, possibly for the 2012 London Olympics.

a pair of low-tech community engagement tools that brought creativity to inner city estates and

empowered those who interacted with them

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images

1. Workshop at YMCA, Walthamstow2. Drawing Shed in Motion enroute to estate3. Drawing Shed workshop stop on estate4. Banners produced by children on Printbike5. Printbike concept diagram6. Printbike in action at the Big Draw, South Bank7. Printbike banner/canopy

links:

www.london.gov.uk/welllondon/becreativebewell/www.spectacle.co.uk/archive_production.php?id=584

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The Printbike

This is another project developed by Sally Labern, this

time with artist Bobby Lloyd, again as part of the Be

Creative, Be Well programme. The starting point for

the project was a screen printing facility where people

living on an estate in Walthamstow, North London,

could come along and create signage with positive

messages (to counter the many ‘No…’ signs on the

estate) easily and quickly.

The brief

The project evolved into a mobile screen printing

facility that could be moved around the estate, or

indeed the city, to allow posters, signs and images to

made quickly and easily by anyone. The printing facility

became something that would be towed by bicycle and

self contained, i.e. it would carry the screens, paints,

paper, roll-up tables and provide a working surface for

printing.

How we helped

Studio Polpo developed a housing that would sit on an

adapted bike trailer – the detail of this went through

numerous refinements and iterations to reduce weight,

and make best use of materials. The lid of this box, for

example, when removed becomes the support for the

removable ‘desktop’ within. Weight and strength were

key, and again the structure needed to made by some-

one with good carpentry (but not specialist manufac-

turing) skills. A large sail, made by a kite-maker to a

design developed by the artists and Studio Polpo, was

also included to act as a windbreak, rain shelter, or

banner.

Taking it outside

The Printbike featured in the 2010 London ‘Big Draw’

where it sat adjacent to London’s City Hall and Tower

Bridge and the artists secured sponsorship from

Brompton, in the form of one of their folding bikes in

a vivid orange which the trailer was painted to match.

The print making workshops have been very popular

with participants able to produce graphically striking

and powerful images fairly easily – the estate filled with

colourful and upbeat signage for example was very

powerful.

The next steps

Due in part to this success, and also looking at how

to use this in other ways, the artists have looked how

the Printbike may be taken to further flung parts of

London where cycling a great distance would be too

time consuming or exhausting. Studio Polpo have

now designed a flexible waterproof fabric cover with

reflective text pattering to replace the timber lid, a

lightweight foldable tabletop, and minor modifications

to the main box itself, which now enable the main box

to fit into the back of a small family car. The trailer

and bike can then be unpacked and moved around the

destination as before.

These two projects have seen us researching unusual

materials, working in a vey enjoyable and collaborative

way with the artists and producing objects that act as

powerful and imaginative tools for community engage-

ment.

02_ Portland Works

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activistresearch

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What is Portland Works?

Portland Works is a Grade II* Listed integrated cutlery

factory. A hundred years ago, it was the birthplace of

stainless steel manufacturing. Today it is a hub of craft

and innovation, home to a community of diverse and

thriving businesses including metalworkers, engineers,

engravers, artists, wood workers and musicians. This

project was initiated when the landlord submitted a

Planning Application for ‘Change of Use’: he pro-

posed to close the Works and convert it into bedsit

flats. Tenants, activists and local people worked first to

oppose this, and then, to propose alternatives that gave

continuity to over 140 years of making at the Works.

The campaign started to stop Portland Works being

wiped out, rather than preserving it, and in the process

hatched a plan for how it might evolve in the future.

What is the project?

As the campaign grew, so did the realisation that the

place could offer a wider community benefit; in terms

of culture, heritage and education, and perhaps most

importantly as a cheap place in the city where ‘making’

could happen. It became clear that this was something

that the tenants wanted as a legacy and saw as a way

of growing their businesses that was based on social

benefit rather than their bottom line. A vital part of

this was to understand the relationship of the building

to the activities within it; in terms of the way the mak-

ing carried out there had shaped the place and also as a

physical hub for such diverse businesses. In parallel to

this we developed an understanding that some things

would have to change in order for the place to remain

sustainable. Portland Works is structurally sound, but

in a poor state of repair, and will continue to dete-

riorate unless substantial maintenance work is car-

ried out; this has implications in terms of developing

management and ownership strategies. The building is

currently fully occupied, but improvements to the fire

escape, access and zoning will allow for the intensifica-

tion of use, raising rental revenues and bringing new

skills and potential on site.

What has our role been?

Our role as architects was to insist on the importance

of the connection between the social and political ele-

ments and the spatial and relational ones. In order to

do this we worked to establish a framework that would

allow for the investigation of collective knowledge-

production of strategies, and tools and tactics available

to economically threatened communities to enable the

enacting of sustainable futures. We wanted to make

a case for and creating a useful precedent of activist

scholarly research within architecture. We saw that en-

gaged scholarship, community activism and community

economic development could converged to actually

Save Portland Works from speculative redevelopment;

whilst proposing new, and hopefully transformative

things.

What happened?

The ‘Portland Works Industrial and Provident Society

(IPS)’ has now launched Sheffield’s first community

share issue for the purchase and refurbishment of the

Works. In order to get here we have explored options,

research precedents, constituted as an IPS, produced

a detailed business plan, developed networks with

cultural and educational organisations, changed local

planning policy and galvanised local and national sup-

port. We have also got to know each other much bet-

ter; there have been thousands of hours volunteered,

funds raised, skills shared and ideas debated.

This activist work has taken numerous forms, including

exhibitions, conference papers, audits, case studies, stu-

dent projects, workshops, and films. It has been carried

a campaign to save a vibrant and historic workplace that grew into a vehicle for the

empowerment of the tenants, changed local policy, and will lead to a new and positive future

for the buildings and their users

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images

1. Plating forks at the works2. The Works3. Posters created to raise awareness4. Workshops to decide on future business models5. Tours of the works6. Tours of the works7. Steering group meetings8. Workshop activities9. Tours of the Works10. Share Offer Launch Party11. Share Offer Launch Party12. Documentation of the process so far13. Case studies as part of the documentation pack

links:

www.portlandworks.co.uk

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out collaboratively, led by our shared understanding

of the project as it developed, with no predetermined

outcome. We have facilitated events (for campaign

supporters, tenants, local residents, politicians and

local, regional, and national agencies), to explore and

conceive alternative futures for PW, positively framing

and supporting the multiplicity of approaches, voices,

registers and ways of operating, valuing contrasts,

discrepancies and divergences.

What now?

The next few months will see us work towards physical

changes to the Works; we intend to continue this activ-

ist approach which looks at what the building does and

the various roles it plays for the many people that use

the building. We see this as a way to bring together the

tangible and intangible aspects of Portland Works, in a

genuinely collaborative and open manner.

This will involve working with Sheffield University

MArch to run a Live Project, where a number of 5th

and 6th year students will get involved in developing

zoning and phasing plans and approaches to sustain-

ability

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03_ Forgotten Spaces

Sheffield 2011

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provoking &proposing

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Background

The Forgotten Spaces 2011 – Sheffield competition,

run by the RIBA, forms a starting point for Studio Pol-

po’s investigations of the Upper Don river in Sheffield.

The competition sought ideas for neglected, overseen,

unused or unloved parts of the city and Studio Polpo,

together with architectural journalist and PhD student

Steve Parnell, used the competition as a way of explor-

ing this part of the city.

The context

Sheffield, famously, is built on seven hills (‘like Rome’),

however it also has five rivers that flow into the city

from the Peak District and surrounding countryside.

These generated the power for the grinding wheels of

the city’s well known cutlery trade, and later powered

steam engines and forge hammers. The rivers also

acted as a drain and industrial waste conduit and for

this reason were, until not so long ago, heavily pol-

luted, and devoid of marine life. As the works build-

ings backed straight onto, or even bridged over, the

rivers (the station is built over a culverted section of

river) they became invisible.

In recent years, with the decline of industry, different

forms of power and increasing environmental aware-

ness, river walks and residential river-side develop-

ments have appeared along the River Don from the

city centre, East to the Meadowhall shopping centre

and M1 motorway.

The Don from the city to the North-West area of

Hillsborough is a lost world however. Running parallel

with a major road and close to the supertram track it

is almost invisible. For a large part it is also inacces-

sible, cut off by private car-parks, industrial estates and

empty sites. This section of river is full of surprises

however; derelict water wheels, curiously named islands

(Bacon Island) and an abandoned graveyard.

Initial Approach

A series of walks enabled us to discover and map these

places and show, graphically, how much of the river

was inaccessible. It also became apparent that there

was a green (or blue) corridor from the city centre out

to the Peak District, waiting to be used.

Over a number of walks we discovered the lengths that

had been gone to, to prevent access to the river but

also the sense of calm, escape and nature only minutes

from a dual carriageway.

A loose ‘masterplan’

Our proposals for the competition fell slightly outside

the exact brief in that we had not picked a specific site

but a large linear area of the city. Our suggestions for

what might happen here were outline and ranged from

very simple to complex: picnic benches, fishing plat-

forms, bird-watching hides, playgrounds, kayak plat-

forms and a micro-brewery and boathouse at Hillsbor-

ough Corner. These would be linked by a walkway that

is pontoon in places, path in others. The string of well

regarded microbreweries and real ale-pubs in this area,

together with the proximity to the tram are also a draw

for visitors to the city

Taking it forward

There is a vast potential here not for development as

such (although there are numerous empty sites and

buildings) but for the opening up of a corridor. Need-

less to say we did not win the competition, but Studio

Polpo are looking at a next stage now where we are

looking to bring together the many and diverse groups

a self-initiated masterplan and series of creative interventions to focus attention on one of

Sheffield’s lost waterways

There is a huge potential to re-invigorate a fantastic

natural asset and a unique space in the city and create

an escape from the urban into the rural, and a place to

explore and adventure. Why wait to be comissioned,

architects should be initiating the masterplanning

process from the bottom up and making this an

engaging journey for all interested and affected.

This is just a starting point!

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1. Existing river view2. Existing river - collage3. Inaccessible area map (orange)4. Proposals5. Early exploration6. Proposals collage7. Proposals collage

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that are involved in the river (these include fishing

groups, kayakers, the Environment Agency, heritage

groups and a local renewables group) to see how some

of these ideas might be implemented.

Creative Provocations

We have been looking at artistic and provocative ways

of generating discussion and interest. Ideas such as a

series of walks and workshops, where participants cre-

ate street furniture from found objects along the river,

to a series of balloons that mark the river’s course

from the street . All of these will capture the imagina-

tion and publicise the are in question. An ideas compe-

tition to design the objects/landscapes along the route,

or just to highlight the remarkable features already in

existance is another possibility.

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04_The Enterprise

Zone

flexibilityand detail

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The Background

Studio Polpo were commissioned to re-work the inte-

rior of the Enterprise Zone building by the Universi-

ty of Sheffield’s Enterprise Centre (U.S.E.). The centre

acts as an information point for students for all things

business and enterprise related and runs seminars,

competitions and events for students and graduates on

business start-up and social enterprise issues.

The client had had initial work done by West consul-

tancy who had provided them with re-branding, cor-

porate identity and way-finding strategies for the space.

We took this on and developed it to look at wider

issues of day-lighting, build-ability and lighting design,

along with an M&E consultant and Quantity Surveyor.

The building had been re-furbished relatively recently

by the Universities Estates Department and we worked

carefully to retain or re-use whatever elements we

could to avoid waste (carpets, doors, ironmongery etc)

whilst working with West to change finishes and other

items. Key to the refurbishment was the concept of

rationalised wall planes that lead the visitor or user in

and around the space. These hide and house services,

and contain seating niches and radiators, computer

terminals and storage.

Our intervention

We also created a large window seat and glazed open-

ing to the formerly windowless meeting space and

through use of built-in joinery and lighting formed a

library-like space for quite study or group-work that

is visible from the entrance. The building and new

facilities were also made fully wheelchair accessible and

DDA compliant whilst remaining true to the original

colour concept and strategy.

Studio Polpo also worked closely with the contractor

to develop a purpose made reception desk and locally

sourced slatted timber ceiling at a much reduced cost

to commercially available systems.

The level of attention to detail is high yet all finishes

and detailing are designed for robustness, and over a

year after completion there has been very little wear

and tear and the building is popular with staff and

users.

What next?

A second phase of works involving the main space of

the building may go ahead in the future depending on

funding available.

The Ideas Box

Whilst preliminary building works were underway the

clients re-located to an empty shop unit in the Univer-

sity Students Union. During this time they ran an ideas

competition and were keen to have a strong presence

in their temporary home. Studio Polpo were com-

missioned by U.S.E to fit-out the empty unit in a cost

effective but eye-catching way, but also in a way that

allowed the unit to be turned into something else after

they had left at a minimal cost.

Design Approach

Our response to this was to design the ‘Ideas Box’.

A successor to the Drawing Shed, the Ideas Box was

mobile office unit that folded up to become a wheeled

box that fits through a domestic doorway, but opens to

become a 6m long structure when fully extended.

The Ideas Box included a reception desk, hatch/leaflet

rack, storage box/bench with display wall, and adjusta-

ble storage shelving. The unit was designed with hinges

that enabled each section to swing by 270 degrees,

allowing a large number of spatial configurations and

use in a number of ways in a number of places. This

meant that the money spent was retained in a structure

that could be used once the client had moved out of

the shop unit.

The Ideas Box was made from OSB and finished with

non-toxic paints to minimise off-gassing and make best

a careful and consdidered building intervention and a new way of working in the meanwhile

spaces of the city

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images

1. Exterior2. Reception Area3. Reception desk seat detail4. The Ideas Space and window seat5. Slatted ceiling detail6. Ideas Box closed7. Ideas Box open showing shelving and reception hatch8. Ideas Box fully extended9. Seat/storage box detail10. Shelving runner detail11. Ideas Box partially open12. Aerial view of open structure

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use of low-embodied energy materials.

Gone but not forgotten

It was our hope that the Ideas Box would be used

extensively if not by the client then by other groups, as

it was very easy for one person to open, close and op-

erate it. The Ideas Box was housed in a purpose built

wall niche in the Enterprise Zone upon completion

of this building but this was sadly not to be as it was

disposed of by someone from the client side during

redecoration works. We have had a number of enquir-

ies by other parties in this unit however, and hope to

replicate it, with minor improvements, in the future.

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05_Hallamgate Garden

_Walkley Micro Allotments

sowing seeds

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Background

Studio Polpo worked with Transition Crookes/Walkley,

part of the UK’s Transition Towns network, looking

into issues surrounding Peak Oil and Energy Descent,

to apply for funding for two Sheffield-based commu-

nity growing projects.

The garden on Hallamgate Road is situated behind a

day-care centre run by the City Council for adults with

severe learning disabilities. The building, formerly a

large house, has a garden with a plastic polytunnel and

was not used by the centre having become overgrown

and neglected. A member of staff, herself affiliated

to a Transition group elsewhere, contacted Transition

Crookes/Walkley to see if they would be interested in

taking on the garden as a space to grow food.

What we did

Studio Polpo worked with the group to plan what

might be done with the space, to talk to the council

and centre staff, and apply for Climate Change Fund

monies to develop the site.

The funding bid, for over £4,000.00 was successful

and was used to by materials, plants, trees, raised beds,

water tanks, and tools which the Transition volunteers

used to transform the garden into a shared space for

growing food. A website for the site was also set up

by Studio Polpo to act as an online notice board and

knowledge sharing forum for gardeners.

Curent situation

The gardeners come from a broad range of back-

grounds and ages and produce food for the centre, a

neighbouring sheltered housing development for the

elderly and themselves. The revitalised green space also

creates a peaceful but stimulating environment for the

centres users who are able to experience the fragrances,

sounds and textures of the garden. The Hallamgate

garden works well as an allotment site amongst fairly

dense housing – there are many allotments nearby that

require a long walk, or a car journey to access them, as

well as requiring security and tools, this one has a pool

of equipment, has the security of being overlooked by

the centre during the day and is just off a major bus

route. The centre also benefits from having people

onsite at weekends.

The Micro-Allotments

A parallel project to the Hallamgate Road garden was

the Micro-Allotment Initiative. Based in Walkley, a

neighbouring area to Crookes, location of Hallamgate

Road, this project looked to initiate small scale food

growing in the many unused front garden spaces of

Sheffield. Walkley in particular, with its long ter-

races has numerous tiny pieces of land in front of its

houses. Too small to sit in, often tarmac covered, these

offered the potential for long chains of productive

spaces.

Again, Studio Polpo helped Transition Crookes/Walk-

ley secure funding for a small number of pilot projects

and this was used to buy soil, plants and a bike trailer.

There were a number of aims of the Micro-Allotment

project; to increase food growing capacity, to reduce

water run-off and urban heat-island effect, and to

bring about social change.

In many streets the majority of inhabitants are unaware

looking at temporary land use at a micro-level to create stronger community networks through

the production and sahring of food

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1. Gardeners meet at Hallamgate2. Drawing Shed in Motion enroute to estate3. Initial publicity 4. Productive raised beds on site5. Productive raised beds on site6. Volunteers clear roots7. Bramble removal8. Micro-Allotment equipment kit9. Early stage of Micro-Allotment10. Transition trailer delivering raised bed kits11. Runner beans at garden12. Micro-Allotment publicity13. Seed propagation14. Off-raod planters

We are looking for people with small front gardens in Walkley who want to take part in a new initiative to create a series of micro-allotments that will turn these spaces into productiveplots growing vegetables, herbs or fruit trees or bushes.

Do you have an under-used front garden?Think it’s too small to bother with?No time to look after it?

What you can get:A specially designed compost box made from reclaimed timberA fruit bush or treeA sealed composting container for collecting peelings and scrapsA small water butt and timber screen.A raised bed filled with compost and topsoilSeeds and seedlingsVolunteers to set-up and tend the plot

How it works:Transition Crookes/Walkley will agree with you the terms of the use of your space, depending on what you are comfortable with.You may want to be involved, whether this is just watering & weeding, planting, or just benefitting from what is grown.

We are also looking for people interested in helping us to look after these sites and establish a larger network in Crookes and Walkley.If you are interested please email or call, details at the foot of the sheet.

deliver / distribute compost to/from sites hub

distribute producebetween sites

distribute seedlings, cuttings and plantsto sites from hub

carry information about the initiativefor interested parties,and to public events

carry tools & equipmentto maintain sites

concept and graphics by studio polpowww.studiopolpo.com

office@studiopolpo.com

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WALKLEYmicro-allotments

a Transition Crookes/Walkey initiativewww.transitionsheffield.org.ukthe transition towns initiative raises awareness of, and looks to provide local resilience to issues of peak oil

Elderly person, lives alone &used to like gardening but struggles now and doesn’t like the front garden looking overgrown.Likes to chat to the garden team when he sees them and also gets some seasonal vegetables.Volunteer, spends two hours a

week tending and watering her threenearest sites. Has no garden space of her own and finds this relaxing and productive.

Young couple, work and goout a lot, no time or interestin gardening, but keen on the idea of the front gardenbeing useful and supportingthe initiative.Use herbs from garden in their cooking, once established.

Student vounteer,helps out on for afew hours each weekend

Transition groupvounteer, helpsco-ordinate sites,lives nearby

Landlord owns four properties that he lets out to professionalsor students. Likes the idea that the front of these is looked afterespecially when emptyto help market them, but also keep an eyeon the properties.

Student household, generallyinterested in all things greenbut no real interest in outsidespaces - happy to get a bit ofcheap and healthy salad orseasonal fruit from the garden.Students get two knowelderly man at next site and help him with the odd task.

the Transition Trailer is based at our hub at the Hallmagate Allotment* site in Crookes and can travel around toall micro-allotment sites.(*see the website at:www.16hallamgate.ning.com)

TC/W

*

* if you are interested please email: crookes-walkley@lists.transitionsheffield.org.ukor call Mark or Cristina on: 0114 267 68618

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of the majority of their neighbours and we sought

to address this by linking together those that may be

happy to give their space to another to garden, those

that may wish to share resources (either tools, water or

crops) or just to provide a talking point to start con-

versation. We mapped a number of potential ‘actors’ in

the network such as elderly people who were physically

no longer able to tend a space themselves but would

like to see it looked after (and would welcome the

opportunity to talk to the ‘gardener’) people with an

interest in gardening, but with no space of their own,

people with an interest in ‘green issues’ and a space,

but no time, who could benefit from produce grown

on their doorstep.

Very often the act of delivering materials, tools or

plants in the bike trailer made people aware of the

Transition Groups bike trailer and initiated discussion

and interest. This very visible process again created a

talking point on a street and more links.

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Dissatisfied with the architectural status-quo and that

the design of places we live is dictated by the financial

interests of the few, we sought to create a practice that

enables and initiates, rather than responds and reacts.

In a climate of significant cuts to the public sector

and a considerable drop in private investment in the

built environment we seek to tactically occupy gaps,

sometimes to critique, often to propose otherwise.

Our work allows us to investigate what roles architects

could and should take in these matters of concern.

Our social enterprise model allows us to instigate our

own projects and offer free or subsidised design work

for ethical projects. Crucially this also facilitates our

questioning of the dominant the economic system,

whilst tactically taking opportunities that it provides.

We collaborate on multi-disciplinary spatial, social

and environmental design with those that might not

otherwise have access to architectural skills. We learn

too from their experiences and approach. This allows

us to be open to answers to spatial and relational ques-

tions which may not always be to design a building,

but could sometimes be a strategy, an action or an

event. Our practice brings together research, practice

and teaching; each critically questions and informs the

other.

Studio Polpo consists of five people; Cristina Cerulli,

Anna Holder, Mark Parsons, Stuart Thomason and

Julia Udall, all of whom have overlapping fields of

interest and activity yet with distinct areas of expertise.

Our structure is flat and all people initiate or collabo-

rate on projects. Stuart’s role at the Young Foundation

brings a non-architectural viewpoint to our work and

a wealth of expertise in social and economic thinking

related to enterprise and young people in particular.

Anna and Julia’s research is based on socially motivated

architectural practice, and the tools available to archi-

tects to help transform communities, respectively. This

both feeds into and benefits from the issues we look to

address in our practice. Cristina brings social enterprise

issues into architectural education and equips students

to become initiators and agents as opposed to simply

employees as well as working across disciplines. She is

part of the Sheffield University based research centre

The Agency, which carries out Transformative Re-

search into Architectural Practice and Education.

Mark continues to collaborate with Architype, a prac-

tice at the forefront of sustainability and with roots in

the Walter Segal self-build movement, and this enables

Studio Polpo to keep up to date with developments in

sustainable approaches to technology and construction

and the surrounding debates.

We are based in both Sheffield and London and this

allows us to operate locally, close to our situation, but

always be connected to other places and ideas. Situat-

edness is key to our approach to practice and projects

away from our bases are always in collaboration with

local partners.

Sheffield offers a unique location for a practice such

as ours. A city with a long history of socialism and co-

operatives it has been a hotbed of change and protest

throughout history. As a post-industrial city that has

declined and had to re-invent itself there are numer-

ous opportunities (seen by many as problems) both in

terms of creative or temporary (re)uses of land and a

very particular landscape. The city also sits at the edge

of the Peak District National park, and the countryside

reaches into the heart of the city along the river valleys.

This connection is a strong one and enables even the

most blast-deafened and grimy steelworker, or lobot-

omised call-centre worker to escape into pure and raw

nature and wander along cliffs, moors and waterfalls.

This unique history and topography, together with a

renowned friendliness and openness, have resulted in a

city where the centre is relatively small and community

networks are strong. It is easy to connect with others in

the city and we are strengthened and influenced by it.

This exchange would be very timely for our practice,

allowing us to further consider pressing questions

facing architects in the UK. We would hope to take

advantage of this opportunity to co-investigate some

of the following issues; What kinds of roles are

architects taking in different contexts and countries?

Has the remit of what architects ‘design’ broadened

from buildings to also include strategies, networks and

policies? How do different social and policy structures

impact the ability of architects to initiate projects – as

the nature, perception and role of the state are very

different in both countries.

practice profile

Studio Polpo are:

Cristina Cerulli Anna HolderMark ParsonsStuart ThomasonJulia Udall

“...a building cannot be defined by what it is and what it means...

but only by what it does: what kind of disputes it provokes and how it resists to attempts of transfor-

mation in different periods of time and according to the variable geometry of different human and

non human actors...it manifests agency in design; far from shaping social identities and relationships,

it simply connects architecturally.” (Yaneva 2009)

Studio Polpo

/

a) What are the main influences and inspirations

for your practice?

Our main source of inspiration are the people we

meet and places we see; our practice is deeply situated

in the contexts we are operating in, as professionals

and citizens. We are also inspired by a number of

‘spatial agents’ (Schneider and Till 2008), often outside

architecture, that have used creativity, ingenuity,

determination and canniness to implement collective

and individual actions that shift perspectives, exploit

loopholes, hijack, resist, collaborate to propose and

implement projects and initiatives that make our cities

more environmentally and socially just.

b) What are the current issues facing British cities

that architects should be addressing?

British cities are under increasing pressure of the

privatisation of space, yet at the same time investment

in the built environment form both public and private

sources has been drastically reduced. We are interested

in addressing the following questions:

- Does the current situation create space for critical

approaches that propose alternatives to market driven

and commercialised places?

- Can architects initiate projects that embody and

promote ethical values?

- Are there opportunities to occupy (temporal,

economic and physical) gaps,and make visible

intangible strengths?

- What roles should and could architects take in these

spatial and relational concerns?

c) Which architects from Finland do you find most

interesting?

OK-Do work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative

way. Their synthesis of research and activist practice

is something we are exploring; it is exciting to see in

another context.

12

responses to questions

Bacon Island, Upper Don, Sheffield

/Sami Rintala + Marco Casagrande use art and architecture

to provoke debate and delight; we’ve followed their

work for a number of years. No longer a partnership,

they remain inspiring.

New graduates Rudanko + Kankkunen, combine an

understanding of the importance of management with

sensitivity to materiality and site. The education and

promotion of young practices is a pressing concern.

HDL (Helsinki Design Lab) works critically to influence

policy, and like us, is interested in the notion of

‘interdependency’. We are motivated by their skill at

addressing and then communicating complex problems

and innovative solutions.

d) What would you hope to gain from an

exchange programme with peers from Finland?

We would hope to initiate ongoing conversations and

collaborations with our peers from Finland and their

networks, and see the exchange as an opportunity to

look at projects and landscapes on both sides with

fresh eyes. Finland’s much stronger connection to

nature and cities such as Helsinki with their proactive

approach to mitigating future flooding could offer

us insights into re-establishing a better ecological

connection in the UK. Sheffield, England’s greenest

city, would particularly benefit from lessons from

Finland due to its low-density, proximity to the Peak

District National Park and lack of acknowledgement

of and strategic planning around the cities’ five rivers.

We would hope to also be able to offer our peers

interesting insights into our experience of the social

economy and of our approach to working with diverse

communities and actors. As populations are dispersed

due to conflict and resource scarcity, and the average

age of the Finnish population increases, will the

demographic of Nordic countries change rapidly?

What issues will this raise and how will architects be

placed to help communities and places?

e) How could the work of your practice respond to

the exchange theme ‘cities and water’?

Water shapes cities by being the conduit and locus

of activities and exchanges and plays a significant

role in their complex ecology (including at economic

and environmental levels). Our particular interest is

to explore water in urban contexts as a prime site

for actions, interventions and activities that address

social and environmental justice. How can we create

the conditions for the emergence of a resilient system

of ethical actors working interdependently around/

in/with urban waters? How can we trigger a shift

towards more just society through rethinking access,

management and use of urban waterways?

We instigated a project about a bottom-up reclaiming

and rediscovery of Sheffield’s five rivers, which are

large part of which are inaccessible to its citizens, and

through actions and small projects we are building a

community now working towards collective initiatives

around our urban rivers.

studio polpo

27 Sackville RoadSheffieldS10 1GTUK

t: +44 0114 267 6861e: office@studiopolpo.comw: studiopolpo.com

Thank you for reading this document, we hope that you have found it inter-esting.

Should you require any further infor-mation on anything shown here please do not hesitate to contact us.

studio polpo, june 2011