We are very proud that studio Collective has won a World Landscape Architecture Award 2023 for the design of the Custom and Self Build community Orchard Farm Kent.

This is a celebration of our studio’s long term commitment to re-imagine Custom and Self Build communities and inspire people to share more time together and reconnect with their natural and built environment.

It has been a pleasure to be given the opportunity by our clients Steenvlinder UK and Orchard Farm Kent to develop a landscape-led strategy and masterplan. Bringing together the Dutch and British design approach and offering the opportunity to build your own home in a unique shared natural landscape.

Many thanks to the team we have been working with: Tom Ashley, Barterhill, Catriona Campbell, Marian Cameron Consultants, EDLA, Peter de Groot, Martin Goudriaan, Hone Ecology, Eline Keus, Mila Kluen, Barbara Paagman, Patrycja Pyzalska, Adam Roake, Ben Roake, Hans Sparreboom and Han-Willem Visscher and Tjarda Zethof

11.10

GRADUATE ARCHITECT, URBAN DESIGNER OR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

We are looking to recruit a graduate urban designer, architect or landscape architect to join our London-based design studio, Collective.

Who you are
You are a passionate and open minded designer and are keen to empower individuals and communities to build their future homes and shape their living environments. You enjoy collaboration across multiple disciplines and are motivated to independently plan, manage and deliver your work.

Who we are
Collective is a leading research and design studio, specialised in the delivery of urban strategies. The studio is passionate about effectively unlocking complex urban territories by introducing joined up thinking and responsive urban design instruments. Our overall ambition is to develop urban strategies which will inspire people to share more time together and reconnect communities with their natural and built environment.

What we do
At present, Collective’s focus is the design and delivery of a wide range of distinctive custom and self-build communities within the United Kingdom. This includes the following projects; The Paper Mill, Birmingham; Orchard Farm, Kennington and Otterpool Park, Folkestone.

What you will do
Support the research and design of custom and self-build communities within the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. You will conduct site analyses, deliver feasibility studies and develop urban plans and diagrams. You will produce evocative project imagery and contribute to the preparation of presentations and reports.

What we expect
That you have a strong aptitude for design and be able to communicate and develop ideas through precedent projects, sketches and drawings. You should be proficient in using 2D AutoCAD, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator and preferably knowledge of Rhino or SketchUp software.

What’s on offer
A flexible and friendly working environment, whereby sharing knowledge and experience will positively contribute to your personal development. Overtime, depending on your ambition, you will be offered the opportunity to grow and expand your role as a designer within the studio. Collective currently have a hybrid working policy in place. You are able to work from home and our shared workspace in Kennington, London.

How to apply
Please send your CV, samples of your portfolio and personal statement to Honoré van Rijswijk (hvr@collectiveurbanstrategies.com) by 28th October 2022. Please note we are currently unable to support applications that require current or future UK employment visa sponsorship. Collective is an equal opportunities employer.

04.11

HOW DESIGN CODES CHAMPION CUSTOM AND SELF BUILD COMMUNITIES

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched the National Model Design Code consultation process in January 2021 as part of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Honoré van Rijswijk the founder of collective has taken this opportunity to share its initial thoughts regarding the interrelation of design codes and Custom and Self Build initiatives.

Design codes form an integral component of the planning and development process of Custom and Self Build communities. The codes were not exclusively introduced to restrain or control this process. Rather, they have the potential to empower Custom and Self Builders, by offering applicable design tools to shape their individual and communal environments. It is therefore recommendable that decision making should take into consideration a two-way process, bringing stakeholders together, and offering future residents the prospect to take a leading role. Custom and Self Builders often have the ability, determination and spirit, to steer and take control of the design, development and delivery process and flourish when offered a genuine sense of ownership.

Throughout the years, design codes have made a significant contribution to the delivery of Custom and Self Build communities. By defining specific design (site) conditions, principles and guidance, Custom and Self Builders are enabled to deliver their individual and collective ideals.

Design codes have the potential to capture and guide multiple site characteristics and create cohesive and distinctive Custom and Self Build communities. For example, by taking into consideration the ten characteristics of well designed places as set out in the National Design Guide. This includes the site context, movement, nature, built form, identity, public space, uses, homes and buildings, resources and lifespan. Design codes, if applied correctly, will have the ability to create and contribute to unique identities for Custom and Self Build initiatives implemented at multiple scales.

Generally it is essential for Custom and Self Build design codes to capture detailed design resolutions and provide effective guidance. However at the same time it is critical to balance distinct and rigorous design guidance with the intent to offer flexibility and choice. A more dynamic design and planning process should be aimed for, whereby design codes inform and shape communities and offer sufficient choice, encourage variation and allow for adaptation overtime. Our experience is that a limited but an explicit set of design codes are more successful, to steer the design and development process, with the overall intention to provide enough freedom for Custom and Self Builders to fulfil their dreams of future ways of living.

Custom and Self Build initiatives have proven to offer an opportunity for individuals and groups to innovate and experiment. Design codes have hereby played a significant role: if defined in a considered way it will be possible to instigate an innovative response at all stages of the development. Design codes as part of plot passports could generate inventive housing typologies, materials and construction techniques and solutions. Additionally, design codes at the scale of the community could encourage experimentation and make a positive contribution to redefining urban and open space typologies. For example, the New Leyden community in the Netherlands is reinventing the urban layout by proposing a tight urban grid, ‘affordable’ compact plots and pedestrianised living streets.

We expect that the future of Custom and Self Build communities will be directed and formed by inventive but rigorous design codes, which will empower communities, create unique identities, offer freedom of choice, promote innovation and introduce opportunities of living together.

The University of Greenwich invites leading landscape architects and urban designers to describe their design and research practices. Speakers including Honoré van Rijswijk founder of collective will present a critical reflection on how they work. Simultaneously they will describe the motivations behind their decisions; and they will reveal the contrasting trajectories of their projects.

Guided by the area action plan and future arrival of Crossrail, the Isle of Dogs is experiencing unprecedented change, which offers a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Studio collective presents its responsive design guide for the Clippers Quay Estate at the New London Architecture conference.

Honoré van Rijswijk, founder collective leads a design unit at the University of Greenwich. The visionary, experimental and critical design process has led to nine unconventional interventions for a new settlement located in Baldock and Sandy Staughton.

05.08

TASK FORCE

Honoré van Rijswijk, founder of collective joined the national Right to Build Task Force to support the delivery of Custom and Self build initiatives.

Honoré van Rijswijk, founder of collective has been invited to present the Clippers Quay guide at the Urban Design London event. The guide sets out how the individual homes could be extended and safeguard the unique landscape and architectural characteristics.

tudio collective is proposing five new one by twenty mile settlements within the Oxford Cambridge corridor.  All new settlements will connect to regional road, rail and water transport networks and to surrounding natural landscapes.