Case study · Project delivery

Co-designing with residents in a pandemic

Southwark CouncilCo-design and playbook

Cover of the Great Estates co-design toolkit

Research slide asking residents what gives them a sense of pride in their local area, with a still from a resident-made video on Kingswood Estate

Toolkit spread on feeling safe, showing new lighting design at Shadwell Estate

Toolkit case study spread on Superkilen Park in Copenhagen

The client

Southwark Council is one of London’s largest local authorities. Its Great Estates programme invests in the estates where thousands of residents live.

The brief

Support the Great Estates programme with resident research, engagement and design during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the usual ways of meeting people on estates were not possible.

What we made

Resident research and engagement adapted for pandemic restrictions
Co-design sessions that involved residents in decisions about their estates
A playbook for the Great Estates programme covering research, engagement and design
A handover that enabled council teams to continue using the approach

My role

I led delivery from scoping through research and co-design to the playbook handover. I coordinated the work across the project, managed the delivery process and made sure the final materials were ready for the council team to use.

Outcomes

Repeat commissionSouthwark Council commissioned the team again after the project