Birmingham’s Retrofit Reimagined festival was a welcome switch up of the traditional archi-event and a chance for meaningful conversation on the action needed to address climate crisis, finds Bobby Jewell.
Retrofit Reimagined was a four-day festival in Birmingham hosted by the local community platform Civic Square from 13-15 July in partnership with not-for-profit Dark Matter Labs, Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) and Zero Carbon House, the self-designed home of architect John Christophers.
By prioritising community and care with programming, participation and production the festival felt revolutionary in comparison to the staid circuit of architecture events we’ve gotten used to and exactly what we need more of in a climate emergency. There was a lot that Civic Square got right but the first step was asking themselves a series of questions that gave meaning to how the festival developed, most notable of these that featured throughout the venue was: ‘What if the climate transition and retrofit of our homes and streets were designed, owned and governed by the people who live there?’
By keeping that focus the typical dry exhibition centre with pricey fees was instead an open tent overlooking Edbagston reservoir that welcomed passers-by. The usual ‘manels’ and ‘mamils’ presenting their projects to a sea of blue suits and lanyards was replaced with a diverse series of personal and honest conversations.
The location allowed for a plurality of voices and events, summing up the different approaches needed to tackle the fiddly issue of retrofit: on panels you had architects, practitioners, activists, community organisers, teachers, faith advisers and health specialists. And apart from speakers there were board games, roundtables around straw bales, stalls from ACAN, the trade union United Voices of the World – Section of Architectural Workers (UVW SAW), manufacturers Lime Green and Hempcrete, and workshops about nearby community Link St.
Although the site did a lot to change mindsets coming into Retrofit Reimagined, Immy Kaur of Civic Square and ACAN’s Sara Edmonds set the tone for the festival. The former speaking about the festival as an “opportunity for generous equity and justice” with this gathering of pioneers in retrofit and Edmonds call to action paraphrasing speaker Scott McAulay – “You have more power than you’ve been told”.
Kaur also warmly invited everyone to co-host, which was invaluable to empower audiences who were found frequently speaking to the curious members of public going through the festival site.
Systemic Challenges & Opportunities
Day one of the talks was about a deep understanding of this fatal problem for the planet, with Kaur stressing the necessity of this in “recognition of lives and bodies on the line in the global south”, asking visitors to embrace tough conversation. “If we can’t handle it, then who can?” asked Kaur.
Watch the Systemic Challenges & Opportunities discussion
Centric Lab’s Araceli Camargo summed up how we’ve got here, unravelling the edifice of capital-A architecture. “We’re obsessed in the West with building pineapples in the desert… which is dumb,” said Camargo.
Speaker Kwajo Tweneboa showed just how much our profit-led housing is failing the most vulnerable. Tweneboa has tirelessly worked across the country using social media to shame housing associations, private developers and councils into action after experiencing poor living conditions as the hands of Clarion Housing Association. What’s mind-boggling is how issues of damp, infestations and unsafe conditions can be fixed, sometimes overnight. The money is and has always been there but care wasn’t. “If the right people cared we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he said. Camargo added that “home is no place for profit.”
Existing & Emerging Practice
These discussions around care also linked to the necessity of trust, especially when dealing with communities. Manchester-based architecture practice Editional Studio had invited local people to their studio, while Jo Alsop Heating Hub and Chris Carus of Loco Homes both spoke of giving people simple solutions that fit their budget rather profit-driven answers they had seen online. Many speakers, like David Nugent of Canopy Housing, spent years working in his local area that’s really unmatched as a way to build trust.
Watch the Existing & Emerging Practice discussion
Embracing personal stories rather than projects was something that again distanced Retrofit Reimagined from typical architecture events. A recurring theme was how many had pivoted from their original trained professions in recognition of the climate crisis – with Breathe’s Natasha Josette talking about her own involvement coming from a place of grief and anger around racial and environmental injustice.
A common gripe at events are architects asking what their role is or where they stand in the hierarchy of construction, often it’s an unhappy place between the master builder, undertakers of the working class and CAD monkey. With Retrofit Reimagined architects were seen as valued members of communities first and that positioning amongst a plurality of voices and professions was a worthwhile reframing for everyone’s role in the climate emergency.
Apart from setting and speakers, there were other elements of events, often overlooked that Retrofit Reimagined did that helped to break down barriers. Genuinely good food, communally shared, as well as complimentary books and a follow-up publication for attendees.
Little touches like non-alcoholic beverages made a huge difference. This was especially apparent where during evening film screenings at John Christophers’s amazing Zero Carbon House everyone was together in an environment free to chat and relax rather than typical architecture event mingle that stumbles into amped networking favouring the loud and brash.
Coming away from the festival the culture and purpose of conferences and events in architecture need to be rethought. I’m seeing more and more green-focused events but still with tired profit-driven models – when COP26 failed to make any decisions do we need events that have no calls to action, no meaningful knowledge or resource sharing? Does this event you attend simple make you feel good about yourself? Who’s benefitting from this conference if no one remembers anything said apart from talking about their own projects.
Of course, it’s a big nuanced conversation and I’d rather see everyone talking more (and doing more) about sustainability, and I recognise that even in Retrofit Reimagined there were issues, frequently you had male mic hoggers during Q&A sessions, I found myself going through double figures of disposable coffee cups that could easily have been banned and it was only possible through rigorous funding applications.
One student who I spoke to said: “It was the first time I had felt so empowered and felt this push to get involved and make a change.” Amazing to hear, but there no irony was lost that we were about to enter an unprecedented heatwave and the coolest summer for the rest of our lives. Task now is to empower everyone through community-driven retrofit interventions as we all need them.
Bobby Jewell is a press and communications consultant based in Glasgow, and a member of the Steering Group for Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN).
