Architype

In an action packed two-day event to coincide with London Festival of Architecture, a young and dynamic team of Architypers returned to the site of one of our early successes, ‘The Calthorpe Project’ to mark the festivals theme of ‘Capital’ as well as Architype’s 30 years in practice.

Over a blue-skied weekend, project co-ordinator Sita Jobanputra led an enthused team comprising of Architype staff, people from the Calthorpe Community, and legendary self-builder Geoff Stow. In realising a vision for a timber playhouse, the team followed simplified plans, using only basic tools to erect the structure; just as the founder of self-build Walter Segal intended it.

Segal’s visionary approach to self-build housing was the original inspiration for a young Architype, forming the basis of their first projects in the 1980’s. Designing self-builds such as Diggers, Hedgehog and Seesaw in Brighton, Architype continued to apply their self-build skills beyond housing, utilising its versatile attributes to address community buildings too.

The success of this speaks for itself when visiting the Cathorpe Community Project, whose ever-growing popularity continues to play host to a range of ages, activities and requirements of this inner-city community.

The building of the playhouse is a celebration of Architype’s involved approach to design over the decades. The nature of the event offered a great platform for knowledge sharing, highlighting the alternative possibilities for building techniques in the UK, making architecture and building accessible to everybody.

In true Architype style, the playhouse has been constructed from sustainable materials such as FSC Douglas Fir, finished in natural paints and utilising reclaimed materials such as a scaffolding pole for a fun fireman’s drop.

The team at Calthorpe is excited to begin utilizing their new facility to engage their popular playgroup program. Besides some minor finishing touches still to be complete, the playhouse stands testament to a great weekend of teamwork and a recognition of Architype’s approach of simplicity and collaboration.