Guerilla Tactics, RIBA and Community Led Housing

The official conference of the ‘Guerrilla Tactics 2019: Understanding the Developer Mindset’ took place in London, and run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The aim of the conference was to aid small architectural practices in understanding the developer mindset, and the cost of the decisions they make for their clientele, while giving them the ideas and tools to enhance their skills in architectural development. 

Ecomotive was invited to present on the growth of the community led housing (CLH), the benefits of people involved housing projects, and the potential for architectural firms to engage with the sector. We providing examples from across the country, touching on wellbeing, self finish, funding and future opportunities.

Jackson during his speech at the conference.

The two day event enabled representatives gain a better understanding of the development process, as well as share stories and experiences with each other. Architects have always been proficient at spotting the potential of difficult sites, which could be a great route for self build and community involved developments. A workshop session provided some common thinking on how to evaluate the true financial viability of a given scheme. This is a critical stage in a development to enable any client to choose to move ahead with a scheme or not, this is especially true for emerging community groups who are often at the start of a steep learning curve in development.

Former RIBA president and former Bristol Mayor George Ferguson led the line of speakers, of whom were:

• Jackson Moulding, Ecomotive

• Jonny Anstead, TOWN

• Roger Black, Black & Colleagues

• Meredith Bowles, Mole Architects

• Lou Dawson, Rome

• Jake Edgley, Edgley Design

• Alexandra Georgescu, KOGAA Studio

• Sophie Goldhill, Liddicoat & Goldhill

• John Kinsley, John Kinsley Architects

• Carolyn Larkin, Caro Communications

• Selina Mason, Lendlease

• Will Mawson, Mawson Kerr

• Mary Riley, Mary Riley Solutions

• Oliver Salway, Softroom

• Steve Sanham, Former Director of HUB

• John Smart, Craftworks

• Matthew Tebbot, Wedlake Bell

• David Tigg, Tigg + Coll Architects

• Leanne Tritton, Ing Media

• Emma Zangs, Communication and Movement Coach

• Roger Zogolovitch, Solidspace

"There is incredible scope for joined up thinking between architectural firms who would like to be more creative in their role in new developments, and community organisations and self build groups who want to live in places that they have been involved in the design process. There is a magic synergy here, with a win win for community housing groups and architects, especially for those architects that choose to embrace and support this route to housing delivery." Jackson Moulding

A big thank you to Gus Zogolovitch, Amanda Baillieu and their team, for creating and managing the event, and specifically for inviting us to speak.