People’s Kitchen Pitsmoor

Year | 2018

Location | Pitsmoor, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Clients | People’s Kitchen Pitsmoor

People’s Kitchen Pitsmoor is a grassroots community group, whose goal is to transform a local derelict set of buildings into a thriving hub for the community. The buildings comprise of a set of old stables, associated to the Grade 2 listed Abbeyfield House, located within Abbeyfield Park, Pitsmoor. The house is currently used by many different social organisations, from local environmental charities to yoga and English classes.

Inspired by a shared love of food, The People’s Kitchen aim to create a community kitchen, café and social institution at the heart of the area, allowing people to share and experience the multiplicity of cultures in Pitsmoor, through cooking classes, social events, community dining and all things food. In order to help make this vision a reality, we approached the project in the same way the client approached its events, through ground up community engagement. By attending a variety of existing and group organised events, we involved both client and the community in the design process, ensuring a holistic consideration of community requirements and desires for the project.

This approach also informed the material we created, focusing on delivering a set of ingredients and methodologies as opposed to a more formal architectural design project. By providing the client with a means of telling their story and spreading their message, we aimed to enable them to carry the project forward. The informal design work and visionary documents provided also aimed to provide them with the means of maintaining ownership, providing them with choices as opposed to final proposals.

Materials produced include a Recipe Box, with the ingredients and methods to make real the project, a harvest map and data base of local resources and materials, a short video, outline building proposals and various other documents, meant to inspire and guide them as the organisation grows.

Facebook : https://en-gb.facebook.com/abbeyfieldpark/

Instagram : @Peopleskitchensheffield

Twitter : @People_kitchen

Credits

Mentor:

Masca Sorn + Carolyn Butterworth