Metabolicity - Urban food project taking seed across London
Metabolicity, a major new research project -by Central Saint Martins Research Fellow, Rachel Wingfield, with funding from the Audi Design Foundation will be presented as part of the London Design Festival 2009. There are four initial sites in East London that have been collaborating and participating with Metabolicity: Fifteen Restaurant, St Lukes Community Centre, NFP Synergy Office and the Haberdasher Housing Estate. These four sites are testing the feasibility of urban agri-tecture kits and main city activities for small-scale amateur growing; restaurants, community and public spaces, workplaces and housing. During the London Design Festival a MetaboliCity Map will be published that highlights the experimental grow sites and there will be a tour of the four London based growing sites from housing estates to restaurants and community gardens - as well as a social event to bring together all the participants. MetaboliCity is a vision of a city that metabolises its resources and waste to supply its inhabitants with all the nourishment they need and more. MetaboliCity is about empowering people to grow food in the most challenging of urban spaces, be it indoor window farms or vertical green cladding that clings to the buildings. The project also aims to encourage designers by supporting and promoting design that creates a positive change in people's lives. This is a unique experimental and participatory design project that explores low cost solutions to integrate both traditional and hi-tech agricultural techniques into the fabric of the built environment, whilst being rooted in ethical systems thinking. The agenda is driven by how design can be used to bring about positive change. It recognises that social innovation and open collaboration are needed to address some of the most pressing problems of today. The participants of MetaboliCity share their experiences via a collaborative online platform to create a live journal for the project and knowledge ecology.
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Fifteen Restaurant Fifteen is a commercial business with a purpose - a global social enterprise with young people at its heart. Fifteen has four restaurants worldwide - Amsterdam, Cornwall, London and Melbourne - all of which operate a pioneering apprenticeship scheme for young people, between the ages of 18 and 24, alongside the day-to-day running of the ... NFP Synergy Office NFP Synergy is a specialist research consultancy for not for profit organisations. NFP Synergy carries out both bespoke research projects and syndicated tracking research, amongst audiences including the UK public, MPs, journalists, young people, and ethnic minorities.
St Lukes Community Centre A large community centre in a very deprived part of London owned by St Luke's Trust- an old and well-established charity dating back centuries. The building provides a space for local people to gather and socialise, and other organisations to deliver their own services to the local community. The Centre serves the community which lives ... Haberdasher Housing Estate The Haberdasher Estate is located in the centre of Shoreditch and has an active Tenancy and Residency Association (TRA) who have started plans to green the Estate.
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