re-imagining hannen road
Transforming a London street through co-design and Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS)
Type | 1 resident workshop (invitation only) plus 1 day-long event with multiple workshops
Client | Climate and Inclusive Growth, London Borough of Lambeth
Status | Ongoing 2023
Pilot Project | Re-Imagining Hannen Road with Co-designed SuDS
Collaboration | Lambeth’s the Big Shift, Station to Station Business Improvement District
Exploring Sustainable Urban Design Together: Here is a little insight into our community engagement work as we re-imagine the future of Hannen Road, West Norwood, London.
A Small Studio, together with the landscape and architecture school at The University of Greenwich, the local BID (Station to Station) and Lambeth Council held an interactive event alongside the community in West Norwood to work with local residents on efforts to improve the neighbourhood and tackle the climate crisis.
On a sunny Sunday, September 3rd, we undertook on a special initiative, aligning with Lambeth's visionary 'Big Shift' strategy. The Climate and Inclusive Growth Commission, in collaboration with the Landscape Architecture School at the University of Greenwich, appointed us to deliver a very exciting pilot exercise: to explore the potential of Sustainable Urban Design (SuDS) on Hannen Road (SE27).
The car free day gave residents the opportunity to join us and share how they think we can act locally to make the neighbourhood better and more resistant to climate change. It was a day-long event whereby stakeholders could provide input into a local project right from its very start. There were three workshops in total:
Collage-making
Collective mapping
Show us your area
The work supports the council’s Sustainable Urban Drainage (SuDs) schemes that aims to cut the local flood risk by introducing new measures that capture rain water to stop it from putting pressure on our aging sewer system. They use planting and trees and so better protect people from extreme heat. SuDS can provide more benefits such as new landscaped space, planting, mini gardens for nature, or improved amenity space with seating and even cycle parking.
Hannen Road was temporarily closed to vehicles, thanks to the Big Shift Road closure day. This unique occasion allowed us to celebrate our neighborhood by reclaiming our streets for social gatherings and play, giving pedestrians the chance to experience its true potential.
To learn more about reducing flood risk and the borough-wide SuDs programme visit the ‘Soak up Lambeth’ page at lambeth.gov.uk.
The project is part of the council’s award-winning Kerbside Strategy that aims to reclaim a quarter of Lambeth’s kerbside from car parking, so it can be used as space for parklets or cycling hangars. To read more visit lambeth.gov.uk/big-shift-programme.
To find out more about Norwood Feast visit westnorwoodfeast.com.
A booklet has been prepared to explain what SuDS are and how they can help the natural environment. It also explains the process of co-design that Lambeth is promoting as an alternative to traditional community engagement. You can download the booklet here
Workshops
Workshop 1: Collage making
Our very first workshop was a collage-making event, where both kids and adults contributed their creative insights. Cut-outs were strategically placed on visuals of Hannen Road, offering a glimpse into its potential transformation. Rain garden planters, green roofs, benches, and playful equipment all came to life on paper.
Workshop 2: Collective mapping
The second workshop was collective mapping. To improve Hannen road we need to know how people are using it now. Desire lines were drawn on a map in different colours to show how people use and move through the street. We recorded where they were going, why, and whether it was to their home, a café ,to a bus stop or the train station for example.
Collective Mapping was an interesting and eye-opening experience because understanding how people currently use Hannen Road is the first step towards its transformation. Using colored markers and post-int notes, participants weer asked to draw their journey across Hannen Road on a large oversized map (it was actually more of a skewed 3d aerial perspective, which meant the street fronts were visible and easy to identify. The result was a series of desire lines, comments and annotations. These lines revealed the ways people walk through and use (or avoid) the street. They carefully documented their line style in the legend keeping their name anonymously, but their relationship to the area clearly annotated.
In total, we received 17 contributions, and as we pieced them together, clear patterns began to emerge. The map told a story of how our community moves and connects within the neighbourhood. In particular, the survey shows there is one (dark) side of the road that is intentionally avoided, and on the opposite side there is a corner used as an unofficial crossing with a major, busy and dangerous road.
The Collective Mapping workshop was fascinating and engaging. It allowed us to tap into the collective wisdom of our community, and unveiled the actual use (as opposed to the designated use) of Hannen Road.
The map was installed on the street for a full 8 hours during the car-free day and contributors were able to contribute short and quick or linger and discus with other users there. Journey. It became an animated little corner of the road on out Big Shift road-closure day.
Workshop 3: Show us your area
The third community engagement activity on Hannen Road in London was a workshop called: "Show Us Your Area."
In our effort to understand the essence of Hannen Road and discover the characteristics that out community appreciates the most, we undertook a unique photographic exercise to obtain a taxonomy of street features.
We invited residents and street users to contribute to this workshop by sharing snapshots of Hannen Road and its surroundings. The themes were clear: architecture, activities, and nature. Armed with their mobile phones, people captured the aspects of Hannen Road that resonated with them.
To add immediacy to the experience, we set up a Polaroid printer. With each click, a photo would instantly materialize, allowing participants to hold the captured image and place it on the table with some thoughts written out in post-it notes. Everything was very hands-on, immediate and catalysed some interesting conversations on the workshop table. This workshop was led by the wonderful @Alan Gillingwater from The University of Greenwich.
As we gathered these images and displayed them collectively, a vivid tapestry of our neighborhood's character began to take shape. We saw the architectural features, the vibrant activities, and the natural beauty that define Hannen Road through the eyes of those who call it home. It was both powerful and enlightening- we had 60 contributions in total.
At A Small Studio, we are not just architects; we are advocates for community-driven design. We believe that the people who inhabit a space are the ones best suited to shape its future. The insights we've gained from this project have been invaluable, and we are immensely grateful to everyone who contributed.