Nancy Jackson — The Conscious Homes of East Haringey

A speculation: What if our homes had consciousness?

Hemp is grown and processed on site to become the identifiable building material of the homes.

The Conscious Homes of East Haringey grow, creating trailing streets, shifting in form and figuration, aiding gatherings and encouraging play. A hemp crop accompanies the homes on a roof-top park and is celebrated through the use of plant based building materials.

The architecture grows across the site as the community grows.

The neighbourhood tree: a masterplan formed by the growth and shrinking of families.

Many new build homes across London are unaffordable, physically isolating, inflexible and materially dishonest. For young families, they fail to provide a true sense of home for children, or for their imaginations to grow.

Permeable terraces give any underused space to the public realm for play and gatherings.

Patterns for a range of family homes create a varied street elevation of alcoves, overhangs and terraces.

Families are aware of construction and material behaviour. Their homes actively respond to the family growth, shrinking and changing requirements.

The proposal consists of a primary timber structure and patterns for a range of family homes with the opportunity for growth and alteration. If a family requires additional space, the framework accommodates. Inversely, the framework allows underused space to be returned to the community for play and gatherings.

The primary structure acts as a framework for organic and imaginative play.

Material behaviour is celebrated internally and the arrangement of space encourages play.

Typical plans and sections.

The timber secondary structures allow materials to be cannibalised elsewhere on the site as homes are altered. This circular economy is environmentally friendly whilst also reinforcing the identity of the neighbourhood and the awareness of construction, material behaviours and maintenance.

The processing of the hemp is celebrated yearly as the harvested crop is dried to form the skin of a civic tower. The tower pinpoints the primary gathering space for the neighbourhood and provides a platform for celebration of both the life events of the residents and the yearly harvest.