Residents Advisory Board Session 2

Wednesday 2 February saw the second workshop with Barking and Dagenham's newly formed Residents Advisory Board. This week's session, led by Alistair Bance and James Stewart from Urban Symbiotics, and Amandeep Singh Kalra and Betty Owoo from Be First, saw the RAB engage in a range of activities that explored the nature of our homes from the neighbourhood through to our front doors. The session queried which aspects of our homes should be designed together with all residents in mind, versus which aspects should allow residents to have more individual choice over how their homes look.

Using the Becontree Estate as an example, we took residents through the different considerations when designing collectively with strict controls on changes, and when individual freedom of expression is allowed for. Highlighting changing attitudes over the hundred years the estate has existed, we shared how over the years Becontree residents have expressed more of their individuality on the outside of their homes. Different paint colours, façade materials, elaborate gardens and ad-hoc extensions now characterise the estate. However, at the estate’s inception, Becontree residents had to adhere to strict rules that dictated how their homes appeared.

We then gave residents a whistle-stop tour of “Housing Through the Ages”, looking at hallmarks of housing through history, and showing residents how they could identify housing stock in their neighbourhoods. The Victorian and Edwardian styles of housing were overwhelmingly popular, with residents charmed by their unique detailing, and distinct character that their warm bricks provide. High density postwar blocks of flats were less favoured by the RAB, with people disliking the stark and brutal materials used, and expressing concerns about maintenance.

To round off the session, residents looked at contemporary housing examples and chose their preferred materials, colours and shapes on both blocks of flats and houses. Tying back to the beginning of the session, we explored which specific elements along the journey from the street into our homes should be designed collectively with all residents in mind, and which elements in that journey are good opportunities for residents to express their individuality.

Make sure to check back in with our news updates to follow the progress as we continue to work with the RAB to co-create a Residents’ Charter!