Research Project: NEIGHBORHOOD - MoreThanHuman Communities
Research Collaboratory: Standart Practice, NOMA, National Trust, MMU, ARTEZ Product Design + guest speaker and tutor team
How can design work with nature to steward new forms of communities, creating spaces and engagement where species meet?
This project was running in spring 2022 in Manchester. The UNIT X is a special collaboration with local and international partners, all zooming in on establishing new human-nature relationships in Manchester. This project aims to create design provocations that enable biodiverse neighbourhoods, where communities meet in social, spatial and ecological ways.
Communities are formed where species comes together, not only human but all biotic living factors like plants, fungi and living organisms. Together they form an intricate balans for all living systems. How can we enlarge our understanding of living together and reimagine how human/nonhuman engage in new ways?
Understanding how we ‘garden’ new communities is central in UNIT X. This project is part of a design traject by Standard Practice X NOMA and in collaboration with the National Trust. One of the National Trusts original directions was to bring green space to cities, to enable people to acces nature in new ways that stewards engagement, wellbeing and ecological thriving.
Unit X formed as an research lab with design teams to test ideas, and with wide range of partners, was based at 20 acres of city space. The NOMA site is a former banking district but its location is developed and social value has become the new focus. Through Standard Practice’s interventions the site has potential to host and explore new opportunities.
In partnership with ArtEZ Product Design, alumni, tutors and experts a series of workshops and fieldwork were developed. Students and staff will joined forces as co-producers to create new ideas and initiate provocations.