St Michael & All Angels

Documenting community-led design

I have been working with the Empowering Design Practices team since 2016 on the research around community led design in places of worship. It's a fascinating project looking at how historic places of worship can be use as a catalyst for connecting communities.

In 2019 I was commissioned to make three case-study films on places of worship that had successfully re-designed their space, involved the community, and were now thriving as a result. It was incredible to see such brilliant projects flourishing up and down the country.

St Michael and All Angels is a rural Grade II listed Anglican church, standing in the midst of a serene natural landscape near Durham. The film tells the story of the transformation of the building and the creation of Breathing Space, a charity promoting health and wellbeing. It describes the phases of the process and the insightful way in which the project garnered support from the community.

Empowering Design Practices is a five year research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The research team is a multi-disciplinary collaboration of academics, community partners and professionals, led by the strategic partnership of The Design Group at The Open University and Glass-House Community Led Design.

September - November 2019