Talk & Workshop: Spatial Practice as Social Enterprise with Anna Wakeford Holder (Studio Polpo).
The future development of a Kitchen Studio for the Centre for Art and Ecology raises the question of what a communal kitchen should be like. How should its design respond to the situated challenges of their institutions and the communities that use it? How can it be designed that it works for its users, that it can adapt to different uses and relate to the local conditions?
Director of Studio Polpo, Anna Wakeford Holder, will present the studio’s approach to architectural and spatial practice as social enterprise. This will lead to a discussion and later workshop on how this may inform the design of a Studio Kitchen in an art and ecology research setting.
Studio Polpo is a Sheffield-based social enterprise architecture practice: “We use situated and collaborative approaches to create objects, structures, initiatives and research-led resources that enable transformative social change. Projects by Studio Polpo are underpinned by a genuine desire to work towards social, environmental and economic justice.” More info: http://www.studiopolpo.com/about-us/
Date & Location
25 June 2025 at Goldsmiths, University of London
Talk: 1-2:30pm. The public talk will take place in the Richard Hoggart Building, room RHB 144.
Workshop: 3-5:30pm. The workshop will take place in the Richard Hoggart Building, room RHB 122.
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Please Note
Places to the workshop are limited. If you would like to take place, please email the Kitchen Research Unit to Register: kru@gold.ac.uk
Guests
Anna specializes in research into spatial practice. Her PhD, drawing on the work of Studio Polpo, investigated projects initiated by designers, communities and local authorities, through collaborative approaches to governance and funding. In 2015 Anna delivered a research study into international design practice, as part of the EU-funded creative practice research network ‘ADAPT-r’.
With Studio Polpo, Anna has been invited to speak on architecture and social enterprise in the UK, Belgium and Finland. An experienced and enthusiastic design educator, Anna has also taught architectural design studios in the UK and Denmark, and delivered workshops for community groups and schools. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. See Anna’s academic profile for more info: https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/anna-wakeford-holder#firstSection
More details
This event is organised by the Kitchen Research Unit and the Centre for Art and Ecology at Goldmiths, University of London.
Top image: ©Laura Cuch, 2023
