Sam Pywell

Project description
Over the next century London will need to undergo rapid urban change to respond to the urgent demands of our times. These changes affect all of us and currently our city-making process is not suited to coordinate systematic change on this scale. My proposal combines civic assembly spaces with city-making resources to centrally accumulate the forces for change across London boroughs and involve citizens in city-making. This will facilitate an accelerated response to current challenges through fostering active citizen participation and inspiring innovation in the built environment.

By 2040, Hackney needs to retrofit 92,000 homes to meet the council’s climate targets. Therefore, the first challenge this proposal will address is the retrofit of Hackney’s existing homes. The Hackney Centre of Change will be positioned within the historic centre of Hackney, repurposing Clapton Bus Garage into an 11,000sqm mixed-use civic factory focused on the manufacture of prefabricated façade panels for retrofit.

Site location
Clapton Bus Garage, Hackney