Site As A Classroom Autumn Harvest: Co-Build Share and Learn

How can all of us play a role in building neighbourhood infrastructure together, and what new possibilities are opened up when we do?

Throughout this year, co-builds have emerged as a live practice of growing the skills, knowledge, relationships, and confidence we need to retrofit our homes, streets, and neighbourhoods together, and to prepare for the construction phases of the Neighbourhood Public Square.

Following a joyful season of co-building and learning through doing on the CIVIC SQUARE site, join us for a special Co-Build Share and Learn, as part of our Site As A Classroom Autumn Harvest week.

Collectively, we’ll share the stories of this year’s co-builds and reflect on what we’ve been learning along the away, as we prepare for more regenerative cultures of construction on the Neighbourhood Public Square site.

WHAT TO EXPECT

We’ll begin with an introduction from the CIVIC SQUARE team, sharing the principle and approach of Site As A Classroom — our long-term commitment to learning how and working towards every phase of designing, building, repairing and stewarding the Neighbourhood Public Square site as opportunities for open, shared learning together, at many scales.

From there, you’ll be invited to visit and move around our co-build prototypes from this year on the Neighbourhood Public Square site, including:

WikiHouse Extension, now beautifully clad with timber shingles, many hand-painted with natural paints through our continued Material Matter[s] explorations.

Straw Wall with Clay Plaster, surfacing stories of our practices of deconstruction and reconstruction, and what we’ve learned through subsequent material matter[s] clay enquiries and skills weeks.

Compost Toilet, co-built over several weeks utilising materials from our Building Skills research and local construction ‘waste’ timber, and a demonstration of how we can design for social and ecological regeneration through our everyday site infrastructure.

Work Benches, designed and built by our newly formed Design and Construction Club, bringing together young local neighbours (aged 10 - 16) to explore their role in shaping and learning from the creation of the Neighbourhood Public Square, facilitated by the excellent Matt + Fiona.

At each co-build station, there will be an opportunity to sit down with members of the CIVIC SQUARE team and collaborators on the builds to learn more about the stories behind each of the prototypes, as well as surfacing what we have been learning regarding the skills, knowledges, practices and capacities that are needed to develop the Neighbourhood Public Square as regenerative civic infrastructure over the years to come, including how we continue to approach its design and construction through a framework of Site As A Classroom.

We’ll be joined by fellow co-builders, as well as the amazing lead practitioners from across the material and build processes, including: ffin Jordão (Criw Compostio), Henna Burney, MATT+FIONA, Jo Callaghan + Paul Morton (Moreton Wood), Simon Lovatt (Calch a Chlai).

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CONTEXT

“Infrastructure, at its most fundamental level, is not about roads and bridges, cables and concrete. It’s about who we are, what we value, and what kind of society we want to create." — Eric Klinenberg

Following the purchase of the freehold for the Neighbourhood Public Square site in December 2024 and as we take next steps preparing for construction, we more formally launched our Site As A Classroom approach earlier in May this year. This marks a long-term commitment and collective practice for how we can work towards every phase of designing, building, repairing, and stewarding the site being an open and shared opportunity for learning together.

Now, as we move into Autumn and towards the end of this year’s open participation on site and the resolution of multiple co-build processes prototyping and learning live what this commitment will take, we see this as a moment for reflecting on and harvesting our learnings, ready for continued deep design ahead of more co-building to come across 2026 and beyond.

ABOUT CO-BUILDS
The act of co-building—building together— is at the heart of the co-creation of Neighbourhood Public Square, and the opening up of the site as a space for shared learning and making, at the time when the hoardings normally go up and shut us out.

Co-builds are both a rehearsal for and a live practice of co-creating Neighbourhood Public Square. Through co-building ‘meanwhile infrastructure’ together, we are learning about and developing the skills, practices and collective muscles we will need to co-create this site of regenerative neighbourhood infrastructure, as an open learning process in which all of us have a role to play.

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ABOUT THE SITE

This session takes place in and around the polytunnel on the Neighbourhood Public Square site.

As we prepare to begin the construction of Neighbourhood Public Square together, we are very committed and excited to keep the site as open as possible. In order to make this work, we invite you to adopt new postures together with us and adhere to some important principles for taking care and keeping each other safe on site.

— All activity on site is only open to adults and children over the age of 11

— Children aged 11—17 must be accompanied by an adult

— Toilet facilities will be available offsite, at the entrance of South Loop Park, for this event

— There is level access across the site, but the ground is uneven in places, so please do navigate this carefully, and look out for each other too

— Closed toed shoes must be worn on site for your safety

— We will also provide any additional safety equipment that is required on your arrival, including hi vis vests which are to be worn at all times on site

If further information would support your visit, please contact Emily on emilycz@civicsquare.cc. You can also let us know about any specific access requirements you may have during the sign up process, and where possible we will of course seek to meet these, whilst also being honest about the limitations of the current infrastructure where needed to ensure you have any information you may need before attending.

We thank you for your understanding and collaboration whilst we hold the constraints and opportunities of working in close proximity to former industrial buildings which are currently undergoing surveys to gain a full picture of their condition, whilst we keep trying to practice as openly as possible together during this time, and throughout the construction stages to come.

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WHAT TO BRING

— Wear clothes suitable for staying warm outdoors in changing weather conditions
— A water bottle or keep cup to refill with water or hot drinks.

IS IT FOR ME?

This co-build share & learn may be for you if you:

— have taken part in a co-build or are simply curious about what’s been happening on site

— are a practitioner, organiser, maker or builder interested in co-building or participatory approaches in your own work

— are interested in regenerative design, bio-based materials or material reuse, or open learning and build processes

— live, work or are rooted in and around Ladywood and are interested in the co-building of Neighbourhood Public Square (those coming from further afield are also very welcome)

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ABOUT SITE AS A CLASSROOM

Site As A Classroom is a long-term collective practice to ensure every phase of designing, building, repairing and stewarding the Neighbourhood Public Square site is an open, inclusive, and shared opportunity for learning together in our neighbourhood and beyond.

"Together, we are a commitment to this land as a site of reimagination, reuse and repair; a place to learn, build, eat, grow, care and organise; a home for the capacities, skills and relationships we need to face the challenges and possibilities ahead together, held in common for the neighbourhood for generations to come."

—Neighbourhood Public Square: The Land Story So Far

Our intention is for our team, the neighbourhood, and wider national and industrial scales to learn from the ongoing demonstration through Neighbourhood Public Square in real-time, as well as informing how we learn from what the site, ecoregion, neighbourhood, peers, and precedents can continue to teach us, without end.

This builds on so many experiences we have shared with you all so far including Doughnut Economics Peer-To-Peer Learning Journeys, Ecological Health in Neighbourhoods, Neighbourhood Trade School, Material Matter[s], Re:Builders, Retrofit Reimagined, learning from Centre For Alternative Technology, The Rediscovery Centre, Le Magasin Électrique, Ubele Initiative, Freedom & Balance, and countless others.

Launching more formally in May 2025, Site As A Classroom is an open invitation to bring the skills you have, your energy, curiosity, and lived wisdoms to help shape and co-produce this next phase of discovery and demonstration together through everyday participation, co-builds and a range of open enquiries that we are excited to share in together.

Find out more: bit.ly/PublicSquareDesign

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