- Words and images by Stefania Barbera
Goal & objective
The project proposes a type of education that makes use of the richness of the professional makers and facilities existing on site. The scheme also focuses on the interaction between the makers that have occupied the site until now, the students, and the new community moving to Hackney Wick, in a context of demolition and vast gentrification.
Strategy
Through a learning process similar to the module of the studios in Hackney Wick – big shared working spaces that interact with different disciplines – a collaborative experience of education is created. In return for their time to teach, the professional makers on site – who are struggling to keep hold of their studios – receive making facilities to continue their own work.
Impact
By creating an education centre with the art of making at its centre, the existing community of artists and makers can continue to exist and thrive, and therefore truly maintain the identity of Hackney Wick. By retaining the character of the existing Queen’s Yard buildings, which have been preserved and reused, people who move to the area have the opportunity to directly engage with the artist community and create a collaborative, unique and diverse microcosm within the city of London. In turn, throughout the preservation of these buildings, the project stimulates a sense of belonging and memory of what once was and what will be, long into the future; a sustainable environment of artistic and engaging freedom.
Site location
Queen’s Yard, London Borough of Hackney, E9 5EN
Project size
91,500 sqft / 8,500 sqm
Client
Hackney Council
