PUBLIC HOUSE LINCOLN
In November 2019, ON/OFF were invited to address the theme of ‘Social Architecture’ and its potentials for Lincoln’s Ermine Estate by the community arts and culture organisation Mansions of the Future (MOTF).
We often describe our own practice not as “social architecture” – as it doesn’t aim to find blanket solutions for social problems, in the vein of earlier traditions of social housing or newer neoliberal models – but rather as an architecture of socialising. By this we mean: the objects and encounters we initiate disrupt or distort the usual flow of our urban lives by creating new social engagements. They prompt people to critically reconsider the spaces and frameworks that they occupy and act within.
During this first visit to Lincoln and the Ermine we developed the idea of the ‘Public House’ over a pint in the “snug” of the Struggler’s Inn pub. After meeting with members of the local Ermine community during a mapping workshop in the Ermine United Reformed Church, we were struck by the rapidly dwindling spaces for social congregation on the estate. Many of the people we spoke to lamented the disappearance of various shops, churches and, most recently, the closure of the Imp Pub on the estate.
We were drawn to the Public House as a concept partly because of its history and partly because of the invaluable role it plays in contemporary British society (and beyond). The first alehouses were established in domestic spaces in the 10th century. They quickly evolved into meeting places for people to socialise, gossip and arrange mutual aid between communities. In this sense, they played a major role both politically and socially. But what role does a Public House serve today?
Inverting the historical role of the Public House as a domestic space that invited the community in, we wanted to create a warm, home-like hearth that could be brought outside, into public space. The contradiction is already inherent in the name ‘Public House’ as it blurs the distinction between the public and private sphere. Ultimately, our response to the MOTF’s call for a response to their theme was a playful and experimental one: to parade the Public House through the Ermine’s residential neighbourhoods and in doing so, question together the future of space for socialising on the estate.
Thanks to Kerry Campbell, Colette Griffin and Selina Tarnowska from MOTF.
Images by Fergus Carmichael (MOTF)
Drawings by ON/OFF
Type:Workshop
Location:Lincoln
Year:2019
Client:Mansions of the Future
In November 2019, ON/OFF were invited to address the theme of ‘Social Architecture’ and its potentials for Lincoln’s Ermine Estate by the community arts and culture organisation Mansions of the Future (MOTF).
We often describe our own practice not as “social architecture” – as it doesn’t aim to find blanket solutions for social problems, in the vein of earlier traditions of social housing or newer neoliberal models – but rather as an architecture of socialising. By this we mean: the objects and encounters we initiate disrupt or distort the usual flow of our urban lives by creating new social engagements. They prompt people to critically reconsider the spaces and frameworks that they occupy and act within.
During this first visit to Lincoln and the Ermine we developed the idea of the ‘Public House’ over a pint in the “snug” of the Struggler’s Inn pub. After meeting with members of the local Ermine community during a mapping workshop in the Ermine United Reformed Church, we were struck by the rapidly dwindling spaces for social congregation on the estate. Many of the people we spoke to lamented the disappearance of various shops, churches and, most recently, the closure of the Imp Pub on the estate.
We were drawn to the Public House as a concept partly because of its history and partly because of the invaluable role it plays in contemporary British society (and beyond). The first alehouses were established in domestic spaces in the 10th century. They quickly evolved into meeting places for people to socialise, gossip and arrange mutual aid between communities. In this sense, they played a major role both politically and socially. But what role does a Public House serve today?
Inverting the historical role of the Public House as a domestic space that invited the community in, we wanted to create a warm, home-like hearth that could be brought outside, into public space. The contradiction is already inherent in the name ‘Public House’ as it blurs the distinction between the public and private sphere. Ultimately, our response to the MOTF’s call for a response to their theme was a playful and experimental one: to parade the Public House through the Ermine’s residential neighbourhoods and in doing so, question together the future of space for socialising on the estate.
Thanks to Kerry Campbell, Colette Griffin and Selina Tarnowska from MOTF.
Images by Fergus Carmichael (MOTF)
Drawings by ON/OFF