Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Medievals and moderns in conversation: Co-designing creative futures for under-used historic churches in rural communities

Senior, Timothy J.; Metcalfe, Tom; McClean, Stuart; Wilson, Alexander; Bowen, Simon; Ailes, Marianne; McGregor, Ed

Medievals and moderns in conversation: Co-designing creative futures for under-used historic churches in rural communities Thumbnail


Authors

Timothy J. Senior

Tom Metcalfe

Profile Image

Dr Stuart McClean Stuart.Mcclean@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor Public Health (Health & Wellbeing)

Alexander Wilson

Simon Bowen

Marianne Ailes

Ed McGregor



Abstract

For many living in rural areas, the loss of traditional community assets and increased social fragmentation are a common feature of everyday life. The empty village church is a poignant symbol of these challenges; yet, these are sites that hold considerable potential for new placemaking solutions that respond to the needs of communities today. This means looking beyond “the traditional village church” to recognise a longer history of church adaptation and resilience within the lives of communities. In this paper we ask: how can co-design, projected through a Wicked problems and Clumsy solutions lens, help imagine new futures for communities and their historic churches today? Clumsy solutions consider a plurality of different perspectives on the nature of problems and their resolution to deliver more effective solutions with broad appeal. In the search for clumsiness, we turn to ‘long history’ and ‘slow technology’ for inspiration, uncovering deeper resonance with historical communities of place and anchoring that continuity within church sites themselves. Our paper demonstrates how Wicked/Clumsy thinking can account for the challenges faced by rural communities today, bootstrap co-design activities in the development of clumsy solutions, and uncover clumsiness in long history and slow technology dimensions—together laying the foundation for new placemaking strategies.

Citation

Senior, T. J., Metcalfe, T., McClean, S., Wilson, A., Bowen, S., Ailes, M., & McGregor, E. (2022). Medievals and moderns in conversation: Co-designing creative futures for under-used historic churches in rural communities. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 6(5), Article 40. https://doi.org/10.3390/mti6050040

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 12, 2022
Online Publication Date May 18, 2022
Publication Date May 18, 2022
Deposit Date May 23, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Multimodal Technologies and Interaction
Electronic ISSN 2414-4088
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 5
Article Number 40
Series ISSN 2414-4088
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/mti6050040
Keywords Medievals, Conservation, Creative Futures
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9533862
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/journal/mti

Files







You might also like



Downloadable Citations