Spaced Out Architecture Studio Blog

RIBA Chartered Architects led by James Engel, Spaced Out aspire to provide exemplary ideas and solutions that will survive all elements of resistance.

Our aim is to create enjoyable, practical and uplifting architecture.

Spaced Out Architecture Studio,
Long House,
46 Penton Street,
Islington,
London N1 9QA

tel: +44(0)20 7833 9236
e-mail: info@spacedout.co.uk

web: www.spacedout.co.uk

Spaced Out Architecture Studio is a trading name of Spaced Out Limited
Co.Reg. No. 336685 Members of RIBA and ACID

The Peace Pentagon Competition, New York

339 Lafayette Street,
New York

The design centres around communicating the message of peace and justice within the community. By encouraging visitors to the Peace Pentagon to sign the peace register or relax in the roof top garden we wish to help mobilize the peace movement.

The Peace Register cabin, perched on the lip of the canyon on the side of the building invites visitors to add their thoughts to the register, whose entries will be projected onto the rear wall.

Interactive digital texts and the Dusk-to-Dawn banners (currently illustrated with ‘Peace’ by Luba Lukova) create both a permanent and ever changing display on the street elevations.

The cost of creating this state-of-the-art environmentally sustainable building is projected as being less than 0.063 percent of New York City’s financial commitment to the current Iraq and
Afghanistan wars.

Design and model by Spaced Out, rendering by Clustaspace, banner artwork courtesy of Luba Lukova

Conceptual Design development with Bob Baldwin of Doris Inc.

Nomadic Garden, London

Godson Street, 

Islington

Whilst our director, James Engel, working with Jake Edgerly, are working up a sensitive design for the redevelopment of 1-7 Godson Street, the land has been turned into a sustainable Nomadic Garden by Andie Scott and the students of New River College.  

The site which has been used for the odd market trollies for the last 15+ years and filled with rubbish was purchased collectively by 7 local people to develop into workshops, apartments and housing to help regenerate the chapel market area. These local people have loaned the land to the garden until next year, free of charge.   Since April, over 20 local community volunteers have helped clear the derelict site and get the project up and running.

The garden is in it’s early days but the students have been engaging in making fantastic mural boards for it of an exceptionally high standard.  They are successionally sowing leaf vegetables and herbs to sell to Moro’s restaurant in Exmouth Market who are helping the garden work towards being sustainable.  The project is also starting to recycle local food waste from restaurants and cafes to turn into compost to sell. 

The garden is on wheels so that each year it moves to a new location which is waiting for redevelopment. The idea is that the nomadic garden really is nomadic. Students that become interested in horticulture when they leave college will be assisted with practical training courses and grant funding.

Mayor Mouna Hamitouche came to open the project for the KS4 students and the local community on 18th July.  The day proved to be a fun filled with information, games and gardening for volunteers.  More local residents are becoming involved in the Nomadic Garden and cafes are able to recycle their vegetable waste in the composting system and wormery that has been set up. The development of the site is very important to the regeneration of Chapel Market and Spaced Out are actively involved in seeing the transition sensitively achieved.

Green Hub in Tottenham

A energetic, enthusiastic member of our studio, Abigail Stevenson, a recent graduate of CAT (Centre of Alternative Technology), has been busy, outside of Spaced Out, working at The Selby Centre in Tottenham.  Here, she writes about the pioneering ‘Energy Lab’ project and her ongoing involvement with the Tottenham community.  

by Abigail Stevenson

After finishing the Professional Diploma course where I focused on alternative development strategies, I began to put my work to use locally in Tottenham, North London. During a meeting to organize a skill share I discovered a wood recycling scheme called Wood Works Wonders had recently been set up at the Selby Centre (www.selbytrust.co.uk). I later visited the site and found myself at a vibrant community centre that really does live up to its slogan 'many cultures one community'.

I began to work with the Selby Centre to realise its goal as becoming a green hub, by reducing its energy consumption, retrofitting the building and creating a forum for environmental education. Taking the lead from the reuse and recycling philosophy seeded by Wood Works Wonders we are beginning to develop a pilot programme that will take waste generated by the centre and format it into materials that can be used to retrofit the building.

The pilot programme 'Energy Lab' will take a thorough and scientific approach, testing the materials for thermal mass and insulating properties as well as assessing their performance. This is an exciting practical research opportunity, and any willing minds thoughts and comments are most welcome, contact selbywoodworks@aol.com.

http://www.tottenham-today.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=24755

Photography by Tim Jones Photography