In July 2024, the Hartree project team hosted two workshops on the masterplan design code – one with the Ideas Exchange, and one with members of the community. The Design Code is a set of guidelines that will shape the look and feel of the Hartree site, ensuring it meets the needs of the community and fits in with the local environment. The workshops focused on the elements of communal space that will be coded in the ‘homes’ section of the Design Code, including lobby and courtyard spaces which are shared spaces in the block typologies in Hartree.
The workshop began with presentations on the Hartree Design Code and masterplan, then the participants split into groups for an activity. The activity involved categorising potential uses for common spaces into ‘shared’ and ‘private’ use, using tokens representing the different uses. The group discussed which uses could share the same space, and ranked them in terms of importance. Following this, members annotated an axonometric drawing of a residential block on the Hartree site, leaving comments on the shared uses of communal lobby and community rooms on the ground floor and courtyard spaces.
Participants emphasised the importance of fostering a community spirit in the blocks and finding ways to coordinate the management of the shared spaces to ensure they can be well maintained and enjoyed by all.
We hope to have another chance to meet the Ideas Exchange before the submission of our planning application, and we look forward to welcoming our community workshop members to a site visit in August.