A programme of art, culture and new infrastructure to reimagine the future of the UK’s biggest council housing estate
nimtim architects was commissioned by Create London and the Royal Institute of British Architects to look at ways to work with residents to improve amenity green corner plots on the Becontree Estate. The project is one of five projects commissioned by Create and funded by Barking & Dagenham council’s Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (a charge on development in the borough to help fund infrastructure such as playgrounds and public spaces).
The intersection between Fuller Road & Lindsey Road on the Becontree Estate was selected following consultation with council officers, senior members and ward members. A new vision for the site was built with residents and children through community engagement workshops in the area and local schools. The site was redeveloped in July 2023 to provide a place for residents to meet and for children to play.
Nimtim architects was founded in 2014 by Nimal Attanayake and Timothy O’Callaghan (Nimi and Tim). They founded the practice following Nimi’s diagnosis and recovery from cancer, which inspired their decision to create a ‘relatable, approachable and supportive’ practice, committed to ‘a healthy work/life balance’ and ‘adding social value’.
Katie Schwab works with installation, textiles, furniture and moving image, to explore personal and social histories of education, migration and labour. Her research focuses on domestic textiles and civic design from the inter- and postwar period and, in particular, the underrepresented work of women artists and émigré designers. Embedded in the communities and contexts in which she works, Katie’s long-term projects incorporate collaborative workshops, oral history interviews, archival research and craft-based learning.
Co-commissioned by Create London and the Royal Institute of British Architects for the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.