Architects reframe home retrofits from bottom up
With 80% of UK homes that will exist in 2050 already in existence, retrofitting is vital to cosier homes and cheaper energy bills – not to mention net zero!
Yet high costs, scare stories and limited practical guidance have left many householders hesitant to take action, while millions of homes remain seriously energy inefficient.
LJMU researchers are approaching this impasse with an Innovation Fellowship, called ‘Anfield Community Prototyping: A Mobile Retrofit Demonstrator’, taking place in the inner-city Liverpool neighbourhoods of Anfield and Everton.
The scheme sees architects, sociologists, designers and local residents collaborating to better understand what works and what is realistic and practical in terms of home alterations.
Let the community lead
Dr Jonathan Orlek, a senior lecturer in architecture at LJMU says top-down approaches to retrofit have a chequered record: “Stories of poor installations, inadequate tenant involvement, and changing technical guidance make people question big initiatives. In contrast, groups like the Cosy Homes Club are deeply situated and trusted, committed to community ownership and partnering, whilst also ambitious for change at a neighbourhood scale.”
The Cosy Homes Club is led by Two Up Two Down, the Anfield-based third sector organisation and community land trust named after the typical house found in the streets around the famous football stadium. They are campaigning for warmer, healthier and more affordable homes in their area, as part of a broader effort to initiate community-led retrofitting.
Through a series of design workshops in collaboration with The Cosy Homes Club and Two Up Two Down, Jonathan and his colleagues Dr Tom Moore and Dr Maike Pötschulat have developed a ‘mobile retrofit demonstrator’ to extend the engagement work of the Cosy Home Club and spark playful conversations about retrofit and the type of materials used in our homes. This will be popping up in markets, living rooms and even at Tupperware parties!
Impact that lasts
Lecturer Tom Moore, one of the researchers, said: "What stands out is the passion, commitment and depth of understanding in conversations about housing, energy and neighbourhood change. Residents approached these issues from very different perspectives, but all shared a desire to create positive change for Anfield and Everton."
Jonathan and Tom are particularly interested in participatory architecture, where the focus is not only on the buildings and spaces, but also on how decisions are made, who is involved and what lasting impact the process has. Tom says: “Between us, we bring a lot of experience creating opportunities for communities to share knowledge, explore ideas and shape changes to their neighbourhoods. We can help people imagine possibilities beyond current constraints, while also translating those ideas into playful, practical designs that can be built and tested.”
The team are not stopping here! Having successfully tested a community prototyping process within LJMU, they have plans to develop further design-research collaborations within the Liverpool City Region.
See here for more information about this research cluster.
IMAGE: The LJMU and Cosy Homes teams have an impromtu discussion on an Anfield street.
