Beyond lending - A case study

Lovesmith, George; Miah, Mohamad Fez; Singleton, Aled

Abstract

Maindee Library+ , Newport, is a volunteer-run, community initiated, piece of social infrastructure. Through a co-produced, socially engaged art programme, Maindee Unlimited appointed architects George Lovesmith (Integrated Workshop) & Sarah Hollingworth (Architecture 00) to help them reimagine the building in 2017.

Open invitations were made to bring as many people as possible into the spaces of production, exploring new forms of participatory design and shared, local ownership. Numerous art practices were deployed to test what more this small piece of civic architecture might be; social gatherings and game-like events were tailored to embed ideas of how it might feel to use the space in different ways in lived experience.

Live projects prototyped how the building could be used, enabling participating volunteers and invited student groups, within processes of creative change; and professional learning in the community.

This project allowed for reflective creative practice and collaborative experimentation within communities who are keen to expand how their inter-relationships might vary from the norm. This was a process of radical experimentation that was interdisciplinary in order to be socially sustainable and creative, with the hope of challenging people, but not intimidating them.

Expectations of risk and control were challenged throughout. The process had meaning because of a culture of community support, within which each one of us had a sense of belonging.

• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 16, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2024
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Pages: 252-261
• Edition: 1st
• Book Title: Generosity and Architecture
• Chapter Number: 24
• ISBN: 9781032078519
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10525977
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003211815-27/beyond-lending-george-lovesmith-mohamad-fez-miah-aled-singleton?context=ubx&refId=c791aff1-8be1-4bbb-acdb-725a8d3e3c23
• Contract Date: Mar 1, 2019