Making space for new ways of designing with and for communities.

We spoke with Alex Towler and Sammy-Jo Hagan, Co-founder and Architect at Transition by Design, about their role in incubating Makespace Oxford, and building a co-operative architecture practice that operates at the intersection between architecture, design and social change practice. Sammy-Jo and Alex shared the value of ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to democratising design and development. As a Worker Cooperative, Transition by Design’s members take decisions collectively through a Consent process, which creates a sense of shared ownership and develops the tools and skills needed to democratise how our towns and cities can be developed. During the conversation we touched on TbD’s wide ranging portfolio of work from community led housing, action research and meaningful community engagement to the low carbon retrofit of existing building stock at both a local as well as a national and strategic scale. Sammy-Jo and Alex offered up the ingredients of a people-centred approach to design, using the tool of a Community Design Review Panel, which prioritises local needs and the accountability of design teams: