Community Economic Live Project (2016) community economies - live project - Brave New Alps | University of Sheffield Location: Rovereto, Italy Working closely with Brave New Alps, a cultural association and design collective based in Nomi (Vallagarina district, Trentino region), the students of the MA in Architecture actively took part in the work to establish a community-based research-and- resource centre, through which to intervene – through design, production and knowledge dissemination – in the realms of the commons and community economies.

1. c o m m u n i t y e c o n o m i e s
- l i v e p ro j e c t -
Brave New Alps | University of Sheffield
Location: Revereto, Italy

2. 3
Community Economies | Contents
c o n te n t s
Project introduction
The project
The team
Research
Location | Brief
Stakeholders network
Sustainable community | History
Portland Works precedent analysis
Concept and design
The design manual

3. 5
Community Economies | Project Introduction
p ro j e c t i n t ro d u c t i o n
This Live Project will explore what it means to live and work in
common, through investigations in Sheffield and Leeds and the
development of proposals for a site in Northern Italy.

4. 7
Community Economies | The Project
6 Community Economies | The Project
Working closely with Brave New
Alps, a cultural association and
design collective based in Nomi
(Vallagarina district, Trentino
region), we will actively take part in
the work to establish a community-
based research-and- resource
centre, through which to intervene
– through design, production and
knowledge dissemination – in
the realms of the commons and
community economies.
As the Centre starts out, it will be
hosted in a disused industrial space
(200m²), which is part of a complex
of buildings that have been re-
functioned in 2015 in order to
host up to 80 asylum seekers. The
industrial space, which is called
QuerciaLAB2, will be shared with
associations and cooperatives
working with the asylum seekers,
who will use it to host a variety of
activities. Our wish is that fruitful
synergies will develop between the
Centre, the other associations and
cooperatives, the asylum seekers
and the wider town of Rovereto.
Brave New Alps’ expertise in terms
of material production is closely
related to graphic design and print
production. Therefore, the first
production equipment the Centre
will hold is a two-colour Risograph
printer (size of prints up to A3)
and a paper cutting machine. At a
second stage, silk screen printing
facilities will be implemented.
Like this, the Centre will start out as
a social print shop, but in the future
it will host production facilities
in a variety of other realms. As a
matter of fact, in two preliminary
workshops led by Brave New Alps
in September 2016 with a group of
asylum seekers and social workers,
the desire was expressed to also
host the following activities at
QuerciaLAB, as these can valorise
some of the skills and interests of
the asylum seekers: hairdressing,
tailoring, physical work outs, DIY
making, bike repairing, making
music and cultural events.
Therefore, the Centre is conceived
as a multifunctional space that will
grow into an interface fostering the
creation of relations and bridges
between old and new inhabitants
of the Vallagarina district around
making and culture.
We envisage that this will take place
through:
a) activities of making (printing,
tailoring, fixing, etc.)
b) the organisation cultural events
(around the commons, community
economies, cultures of making)
such as roundtable discussions,
reading groups, music evenings,
exhibitions, artist residencies
c) the production of knowledge
(which can then find its form into
printed matter)
d) the experimentation with
alternative forms of exchange and
non-capitalist economies
t h e p ro j e c t
- Q u e rc i a L A B -
Brave New Alps collaborates on the establishment of QuerciaLAB with the following
associations and cooperatives:
- Punto d’Approdo – a cooperative that works with asylum seekers
- Multiverso – an association of young people that organises cultural events

5. 9
Community Economies | The Team
8 Community Economies | The Team
t h e t e a m
- c o m m u n i t y e c o n o m i e s -
Maria Ramos (Y5 MArch student)
Country: Portugal
Languages: English and Portuguese
Laura Postlethwaite (Y5 MArch student)
Country: England
Languages: English
Monica Meza (MAAD student)
Country: Mexico
Languages: English, Spanish and French
Matthew Chamberlain (Y5 MArch student)
Country: England
Languages: English
Nam Kha Tran (6Y MArch student)
Country: England
Languages: English
Joren Heise (Y6 MALA student)
Country: Netherlands
Languages: English and Dutch
Abbie Humphreys (Y6 MArch student)
Country: England
Languages: English, Spanish and German
Seth He (MAAD student)
Country: China
Languages: English and Chinese

6. 11
Community Economies | Research
re s e a rch
1. Location | Brief
2. Stakeholders network
3. Site location | The aims
4. Community Economies | Commons
5. History | Microclimate
6. Rovereto site analysis
7. Portland Works site visit analysis
8. Leeds site visit analysis
9. Precedents

7. 13
Community Economies | Brief
12 Community Economies | Location

8. 14 Community Economies | Stakeholders 15
Community Economies | Stakeholders

9. 16 Community Economies | Site Location 17
Community Economies | The Aims
t h e a i m

10. 18 Community Economies | Commons 19
Community Economies | Sustainable Community

11. 20 Community Economies | History 21
Community Economies | Microclimate
Average temperatures and precipitation Wind speeds
ROVERETO ITALY
45.89° N 11.04° E
204m ASL
(Above Sea Level)
Cloudy, sunny, and precipitation days
Maximum temperatures
Wind rose
Precipitation amounts
Weather archive--2 years

12. 22 Community Economies | Rovereto site analysis 23
Community Economies | Rovereto site analysis

13. 24 Community Economies | Portland Works analysis 25
Community Economies | Portland Works analysis

14. 26 Community Economies | Leeds analysis 27
Community Economies | Leeds analysis

15. 29
Community Economies | Concept and Design
co n c e p t a n d d e s i g n
1. Existing analysis | Concept
2. The pavilion
3. Pavillion design options
4. The cabinet
3. Documenting the design process.
4. The design manual

16. 30 Community Economies | Existing layout 31
Community Economies | Concept
e x i s t i n g l a y o u t
Gym
Large storage cabinet used as space
divider
Side door permanently closed
Storage along the side walls
Central multi-functional space

17. 32 Community Economies | The pavilion
1:100 Diagramatic Plan
Diagramatic Axo
t h e p a v i l i o n
33
Community Economies | The pavilion

18. 34 Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 1. 35
Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 1.
1 . b l i n d s y s t e m

19. 36 Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 2. 37
Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 2.
Option 1:
(Structural timber)
Option 2:
(Steel poles)
2 . p a n e l s y s t e m

20. 38 Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 3. 39
Community Economies | The pavilion: Design option 3.
3 . w e a v e s y s t e m

21. 40 Community Economies | Exploratory cabinet models 41
Community Economies | Exploratory cabinet models
t h e c a b i n e t

22. 42 Community Economies | Exploratory cabinet models 43
Community Economies | Exploratory cabinet models

23. 46 Community Economies | Layout proposals 47
Community Economies | Layout proposals
1:100 Diagramatic Plan
Diagramatic Axo
1:100 Diagramatic Plan
Diagramatic Axo
o p t i o n 1 . o p t i o n 2 .

24. 48 Community Economies | Layout proposals 49
Community Economies | Layout proposals
1:100 Diagramatic Plan
Diagramatic Axo
1:100 Diagramatic Plan
Diagramatic Axo
o p t i o n 3 . o p t i o n 4 .