This issue of RIAS Quarterly was co-edited by Andy Summers (ArchiFringe) and Scott McAulay (Anthropocene Architecture School), cover design by Sean Mulvenna, layouts by Jon Jardine, project management by Carol-Ann Hildersley / RIAS

The Autumn 2020 edition of the RIAS Quarterly focussed on activism in architecture, and sought to share and highlight the many wonderful people and organisations doing progressive work in architecture in Scotland and further afield. The following article was written for this issue by Becca Thomas and Marc Cairns.

There are many ways to be an architect. An ‘iconic’ designer, a workhorse, a visionary, a business-owner or a technical wizard. Understanding what type of architect you want to be is key to the journey we all embark on, our origin stories. I knew what architect I didn’t want to be long before I figured out how I would practice architecture. My formative experience was watching peers design contextless new cities from offices in New York, Dubai, or London, while I designed social housing in my adopted city. I knew then that ‘star-chitecture’ wasn’t for me. But that didn’t mean my ambitions were small or that the work would be unimportant. 

What began as an academic project in 2010, through agit-prop explorations of the city, initiation of design challenges and thinking up big ideas, has grown into something much more, something exciting, new and relevant to the world today. New Practice is a new type of architecture practice led by myself and Marc Cairns, anchored in a commitment to the design and delivery of beautiful, practical places. 

With our team, we have spent the past decade seeking out new ways to practice architecture - long before I was even an architect - that challenges the status-quo of who is allowed to 'do architecture' and who architecture should be 'for'. Through grit, determination and some luck we have carved out a portfolio of non-traditional, multi-disciplinary and collaborative projects internationally and across Scotland. First learning to work as freelancers, then how to run a sustainable business and now today as practice directors providing thought leadership across the industry. 

New Practice does not focus on producing buildings, or architecture for architecture’s sake. We only encourage and support community-led development and buildings when it is the right thing to do. More often than not a building does not solve the problem at hand. Instead we work in a number of sectors including public realm, creative engagement, strategic communications, participation and urban strategy. 

Community-led development is a passion for our practice. Shared decision making is vital to planning and delivering neighbourhoods that people feel connected to. Paired with creative engagement, strategic architectural design processes shape better places for our communities to live, work, learn and play. 

Architecture is political. So who architects work for matters. Much as we hate to admit it, architects are not final decision makers, we work for clients. We can advise, we can suggest, we can recommend and we can try to nudge. But, ultimately decisions are out of our hands, that is, unless you become your own client. 

New Practices’ first built project was a self-initiated renovation of a vacant market building in Glasgow’s world famous Barras Market. In collaboration with the building owner and the end user - Many Studios CIC of which Marc and I are also founding directors - our team developed a light touch adaptive reuse which has brought over 10,000 sqft of floorspace back into daily use as creative hub, comprising: gallery; workshop, event and meeting space; retail units; and, studios for a range of creative practitioners. 

That experience inspired us to make more opportunities for others to shape the world around them and become their own clients. We focus on finding and working for initiatives - community-led, through local and national government and with other social enterprises - to deliver transformative changes to buildings and civic spaces and thinking. 

Since 2017 we have been working with Kinning Park Complex to find a way to make sure their building, which they have fought tooth and nail to bring under their ownership, is functional, flexible and accessible for generations to come. 

KPC is a vibrant community hub housed in a red sandstone Govan Parish School Board building dating from 1916. The building has been in community hands since 1997 when a group of the centre’s users and supporters began an occupation of the building after finding it had been slated for closure. For 55 days and nights the group stayed in the centre, 24 hours a day, before reaching an agreement to allow for the centre to remain open under the management of a new community-led organisation - Kinning Park Complex. 

With tight budgets and big ambitions, our adaptive reuse approach focuses on celebrating and making practical use of the school building’s original features, which despite increasing water damage in recent years, have remained largely unchanged over the last century. Accessibility is the key design driver, from the addition of a lift allowing for level access to all floors and the introduction of a ‘quiet space’ specifically designed to provide a break from the bustling community hub for prayer, breastfeeding and silent rest; to the design of a bespoke colour and signage strategy and uncovering the central double helix staircase, recreating the original open circulation routes, and, enabling intuitive wayfinding to support the diverse population of users, including asylum seekers and young people. Proposed internal reorganisation also allows for the introduction of additional floorspace to devote more of the existing floor area to community facilities supported by an improved community kitchen and two large halls with flexible partitions. 

KPC is, like most community and third sector organisations, a one-time client. This whole process has been new to them, every decision has been one they need to think about. Throughout our working relationship, we have made time to explore hypotheticals. We speak to each other in questions rather than statements so that we can be honest about where our relative expertise lies. KPC know their users and how they want to be able to use their building in the future. We know how to make that building safe, weather-tight and how to create adaptable and enjoyable spaces. Together we built a brief that responded to the accompanying business and operational models as they developed. These have been our vital tool for decision making between the client and the design team. This is a journey that New Practice has been on together with KPC, learning as much as we can about their process and future plans to ensure that our designs are truly functional, flexible and fit for the long future of this building. It’s not always been easy… 

But, the process has enriched both organisations, and created shared learning that we wanted to share. In 2020, New Practice developed the first phase of a resource programme for those thinking about how to make change happen in their neighbourhoods. With original plans for workshops and events cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic, we released the series as a free to access digital resource and publication. ‘A Building for Your Community’ is a beginner’s guide to the basics of community-led development, aimed at organisations, individuals and community groups to share some tools on how best to approach the transformation and improvement of community buildings and other land assets, creating a support network that helps groups go from community to client. 

We start by asking if a building is the right solution. Architecture is slow and this can come as an unwelcome surprise, even the quickest buildings take years to complete. Also, the bottom line is important. With access to both the Community Right to Buy and Asset Transfer under the Community Empowerment Act, communities in Scotland are well supported legislatively  to provide futures for underused buildings and public spaces, but funding is limited and takes experience and work to apply for. Building resilience and thinking long-term is vital for communities if they want to become clients for community-led development.

For the past decade I have acted as a translator between other architects and the general public for some of the largest development projects in the UK and London. Placeshaping and design should be a dialogue with the people who will use our work to live in, to work from, to gather and play around. 

There are so many ways to be an architect. Shaping the architect I want to be has in turn forged our practice. I want to make practical buildings that form a city like James Miller did with Glasgow, I want to explore absurdities like Cedric Price, and I want to inspire like Elemental. I know that I needed to see the likes of Sarah Wigglesworth, Jude Barber and Jane Wenrick stand out, their breadcrumb trails helped me build a path. The architect I strive to be is the person I want to be. Someone who is constantly learning and optimistic whilst remaining practical and realistic. Someone who is honest, creative, and curious while proudly being myself. I am a workhorse, a thinker, and a business-owner. The choice I made was being an architect with a conscience, to be a social entrepreneur and to work for the common good. That is how I practice architecture.