The first of a series of Field Office workshops is an exploration of new site-specific practices open to university design studios and young/emerging professional studios. The first workshop, designed for teams to attend both in-person and remotely online, will be on 13-14 October 2023 in Deptford, London (UK). It is for students and young practitioners interested in developing new forms of site-specific practices, from innovative methods to alternative models of work, including architects, artists, and ecologists. The first workshop is a partnership with Sayes Court (CIC), a community organization that has been developed through local resistance to a large ongoing urban regeneration project (Convoys Wharf) and is being developed as a public landscape and research center. Sayes Court is also a place that was historically the London home to John Evelyn, the author of ground-breaking books on urban forestry (Sylva) and air pollution (Fumifugium). The workshop will explore three questions: firstly, how projects create equitable and meaningful engagements with communities; secondly, how data that is collected and generated can be made accessible to communities that are part of sites; and thirdly, how a site/project, such as Sayes Court, can be distributed across a wider area. The workshop is organized by the Field Office in partnership with Sayes Court (CIC), with sessions led by innovative practitioners and researchers. In addition to the workshop site visits are planned for September and a presentation by workshop participants will take place online in December 2023.  From the biannual workshops, each in a different location working with local partners, the Field Office will share an archive of research, methods, and designs produced by workshop participants for the benefit of local communities. A published book will be produced from the series of workshops exploring new site-specific practices.

dal October 2023 a December 2023