Sunday morning design consultation.

So we found ourselves at the Arbourthrone Community Church for the service on Sunday morning. Alistair had allowed us the opportunity to talk to the congregation and engage them in a participation and consultation exercise. The service began in its usual manner with the gathered people joining in worship and then the floor was opened to us. Tom, dressed up specially for the occasion, delivered a quick PowerPoint presentation and then introduced the topics for discussion in our small groups.

Ideas for making the building more visible to the estate come thick and fast, including painting the breeze blocks, lighting the building with colour and a giant shark coming out of the roof. (thanks Andrew)

We also discussed the need for the community centre to advertise its events, be this through a notice board, digital projection or using a giant fan to ticker tape the estate with the events. (another useful Andrew suggestion)

Venturing outside allowed us to rediscover our attitudes to the building and to try and see how it is perceived by people who don't currently attend the Spires.

Felt pens were used to document ideas through notes, descriptions and drawings.

At the end of the session we brought our ideas together and collated them on a white board, using this as a premise for further discussion about how our ideas might be beneficial to the Spires building and to the community on Arbourthorne estate.

The Friday Night Thang - Part 2

Youth Club + Pens = ???

Whilst not being entirely sure what is meant by it all, there are recurring themes within this manic drawing. Providing the Spires with a more recognisable identity within the community seems to be a key one, what with 'The Spires' blimp and one-eyed monster looming large over the area and the Arbourthorne baranding on the fence.

The Friday Night Thang

What better way to get to know The Spires' youth club users than with a friendly game of pool? Gooch and Matthew threw together a tournament while Andrew (one of the centre's full time staff and a full time laugh) organised a shakeshack of exotic milkshakes and smoothies. Crunchie and Rolo shake comes highly recomended for those with a sweet tooth!

Although the tournament didn't get finished (we hope to wrap it up next week) we did get some drawing done:

From cheese to daleks, netto to ninjas, and zipwires to zepplins, the ideas were flowing a lot faster than the pool, and even the sky was no limit!

Community Forester Brings Green Touch to Live Project...

The Spires was the site of our first meeting with the Community Forester. Meeting with myself and Matt we discussed the possibilities for the site and the resources and knowledge he could offer us for this project. With pleasing enthusiasm he was able to provide us with a generous amount of planting ranging from mature trees to shrubs and bulbs all of which should contribute towards the planned transformation of the external spaces at The Spires.

Kids and Vegetables (Mums and Toddlers)

Today we had our first meeting with the users of the Spires Centre, the Thursday morning Playgroup. Everyone was very welcoming and bursting with ideas to improve the centre.

We had planned on doing some potato painting, but the other vegetables were even more of a hit! We had fun getting to know mums and kids alike, and spread the word: 'something is happening'.