We are a not-for-profit organisation based in Cornwall, made up of architects, artists, builders, researchers and educators.
We practice investigative design and construction, delivering architecture and enabling land-use that encourages local identity and economic resilience.
We work as a ‘community of practice’ - brought together by a common interest in the future of rural areas - most pertinently the one we live in.
We are committed to building a future people can see security, health and joy in - whilst meeting the immediate needs of today through the motions of transition.
Architecture
We design architecture that is of the place and for the place; embedded with stories of community endeavour and the landscapes materials are sourced from.
We work with private clients and community groups, all of the profit generated working for the former stays in the company to fund pro-bono work for the latter.
Low carbon materials are non-negotiable, we are more interested in local materials as a catalyst for local industry and inspiration for current and future makers.
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Construction
Under a different trading name; Social Constructs is an eco-feminist building and making collective, attending to the relationships between natural materials, craft and human health through live construction projects.
Social Constructs works at varied scales and in varied roles; from furniture making to deep retrofit to new builds, we fulfil roles from Main Contractor through to self-build facilitators.
We also regularly integrate education with our construction sites, providing introductory courses to natural materials, plus longer-term apprenticeships and training for womxn who want to get into construction and making.
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Engagement Programmes
We specialise in participatory design, in architecture but also outside of it, facilitating broader engagement through systems design, network building, environmental campaigns and business consultancy.
We view participatory processes as micro-political environments, where we can build the ‘soft’ architecture of community, improve public trust through inclusive decision making and imbue built outputs with the identity of people involved and reflect back at them a story of their collective agency.
