Group Prompt: In 2030, this place uses the knowledge, expertise and lessons of its history and heritage to shape and steer innovation for its future. Arts, cultural and heritage buildings have been sympathetically retrofitted to future-proof them against wild weather events and they are hooked up to the alternative local grid of renewable community power generation that has brought household bills down across the city. The intensive retro-fitting project was used as a training scheme and this place now boasts a huge number of highly-skilled, well-qualified and in-demand creative tradespeople specialising in retro-fitting green infrastructure (solar power, green roofing, rain and grey water capture etc) to heritage and cultural buildings.
Group facilitator: Mark Cook
The first group felt that the emphasis was too much on technological solutions, and not enough on the agency of use and reuse of the existing built environment. We should audit our built environment to map and identify current and future potential cultural use of indoor and outdoor spaces, including shared and multiple use. We felt that the ring road should be treated as a large-scale building.
The review group loved the idea of repurposing the ring road… and picked that as their big idea. The two quick wins they identified was the audit of buildings and spaces and the introduction of a freelance opportunity for peripatetic building supervisors/custodians. Overall the groups felt we should experiment more and build on the results of that experimentation.
Note – the group thought about use and reuse of existing spaces, not just within the ring road.
Big Idea:
Redefine the ring road as a building, reimagine it’s purpose on/around/under and create an urban park.
Quick wins:
- Audit and reimagine spaces for the use of arts and for multiple uses.
- Create and train up a set of freelance cultural custodians to open spaces out of hours.
Transcript of post-its: from base of building (easy) to roof (harder/longer-term)
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- Cultural custodians – itinerant security for cultural spaces freeing core staff from unsustainable hours.
- Collaboration and city wide
- Bursaries from the Council to fund start up
- Investments (local and national)
- Survey of vacant buildings
- Lack of education around – access
- Reaching a diverse range of communities
- All development / conservation projects to have social value requirement, including work experience opportunities to develop skills.
- Building owners / property decision makers recognise the value of culture in 9re0purposing of vacant / underutilised properties.
- Use of meanwhile space for artists and creative people
- Involvement of creatives in design and fit-out
- All development / conservation projects to have social value requirement
- Involvement of creatives in design and fit out
- Utilise technology – what we already have and use them. Solar power, movement & harness energy (west orchards, ring road, gym, cinema).
- Pilot / experiment ideas to evaluate potential impact & bring stakeholders on the journey
- Funding opportunities
- Reaching out to heritage organisations for info / and on greening buildings of heritage/cultural
- Our own architects department
- Training schemes and internships in retro-fitting, green infrastructure.
- Artist Vision – the art of the possible
- Collaboration – council, designers, artists, stakeholders
- Free arts venue that’s heated
- Green links into City Centre
- Frame multi-use of buildings? For owners/users – if the lights are on already
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- Accessible physically & economically
- Buildings are animated and regularly used.
- Free bus travel
- Coventry’s botanical garden
- Different levels of intervention
- Meanwhile use
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- Audit and reimagine the use of our arts spaces. Broaden our imaginations!
- Ring Road is a park and visitor attraction.
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- Cathedral is carbon neutral.
- Everyone welcome everywhere. Hospitality a core city value.
The Culture Works Collective 