The Civic Horse is a new community space that can be used in multiple ways: a vertical garden, a small playground, an exercising area, a small outdoor classroom, a small performance space or a temporary exhibition. It provides a space for learning, socialising and relaxing in an outdoor environment, so necessary in these times of reduced social interaction. But the best thing about it is that its final configuration will be decided by the community, and it will be built by a group of young people from the area. To make this possible we will engage a group of local professionals in the fields of design and construction, to train and prepare a group of young designers and builders. This will bring a solid legacy to a community hardly hit by the pandemic, increasing environmental awareness, promoting civic participation, and enhancing future training and employment opportunities for young people at risk of exclusion.

What we'll deliver:

• A new outdoor community space tailored to the local communities
• Empowering young people to take responsibility over their environment
• A participatory and inclusive design & build process
• Transfer of creative skills from local qualified professionals to young people
• Enhanced opportunities in design, construction and project management for local youth groups

Why it's a great idea:

Recent reports in Tower Hamlets are showing an alarming increase in mental health issues and lack of opportunities in youth at different ages. We want young people to decide on the future of their streets and public spaces, and for this we need to create a generation of kids that are familiar with design, fabrication and construction tools. It is also paramount that young generations understand the vital importance of sustainable design and materials, and how they can take important decisions to improve this from a local scale. The civic horse will be a space for everyone now and an initiative for the future. It will provide a much needed space for human interaction and connectedness: a civic arena where local parents can bring their children to play, local artists and designers can show their ideas, local actors, musicians and poets can run small performances, and where a small casual lesson or lecture can take place. And a learning space for the future of our communities.

Steps to get it done:

• Recruiting of Young People
• Develop project design through workshops and select final configuration
• Local stakeholders to sign off approved design
• Preparation of site(s)
• Order of Timber & Fabrication of Recycled Plastic Pieces
• Cutting of Timber to size (CNC cutting) at local workshops
• Pre-assembly in workshop & Final assembly on site
• Inaugural Community Event

Working primarily with simple design & digital fabrication tools has a series of important advantages compared to traditional building: - Young volunteers will get to experience and understand how these technologies work at a basic level, an invaluable learning for their future. - It makes possible to create quick variations to the design so that the final configuration of the structure is perfectly tailored to the site and to the local community's demands. - It reduces considerably the construction process on site, as the main modules of the structure can be pre-assembled at a workshop before being transported and dropped on site - Use of dry methods for fixing (screwed connections) makes the job much faster, precise and safe as no heavy tools are required - The lightweight nature of the timber/plastic structure avoids the need for any footings whatsoever, as it will sit on temporary steel plates. - All the above imply the structure can be easily disassembled and moved to a new site