Assembly of Shared Practice
| “Designing the city is not to fix it, but to allow it to keep becoming.
This thesis positions architect not as a sole designer, but as a mediator. It examines how architecture can negotiate between governance, lived reality, and collective agency by redefining public space as a commons. The project critiques the state of contemporary “public” space, which is increasingly regulated, privatised, and reduced to symbolic amenity, where accessibility is conditional, and civic engagement remains limited. The thesis also argues that publicness does not emerge simply by designation, but through continuous negotiation, participation, and collective stewardship.
Situated in Ardwick Green and responding to the regeneration pressures of Mayfield, the proposal addresses green spaces that serve mainly as circulation and symbolic greenery, rather than for sustained community use. Drawing on the theory of the commons, Berlyne’s exploratory behaviour, and Kaplan’s “mystery,” the thesis explores how spatial openness, curiosity, and unfolding experiences can encourage movement, participation, and social interaction. From this, the project proposes a progression “from peripheral invitation to sustained engagement” through multi-scalar interventions: everyday street infrastructures, participatory park installations, and a commons hub serving as a civic anchor.
Driven by mediation, adaptability, self-build, and blurred spatial boundaries, the project repositions architecture not as a fixed object of control. But instead, it advocates architecture as an open and evolving framework that enables communities to reconstruct, renegotiate, and sustain their shared urban environment through collective practice.
