“Making Suburban Faith” University College London, 2015

The Making Suburban Faith Workshop is an Arts Council funded Workshop organised by University College London, Royal Holloway and Stephen Foley with participation from the Art & Design students at Brentside High School Ealing and students from the Bartlett School of Architecture. We used the workshop to explore a range of perspectives that examine the relationship between built form and the characteristics of faith and worship. While our focus is on the suburban experience, we were also keen to include other perspectives on the spaces of everyday faith: from those with an interest in design and architectural history; from leaders and worshippers of different faiths, theological positions and liturgical traditions; from practicing architects with experience in the making of new faith spaces or the conversion of other buildings; and from those involved in the planning and conservation of religious buildings. In doing so the students were asked to answer the following questions with their proposals: What is a prayer space? Where are the Different types of Space where People pray together or alone? How do we integrate these spaces into the existing community and urban fabric? What are the type of public activities which can be take place? The results from the workshop are currently exhibited at Ealing Library and were selected for showcase at the Utopia Fair at Somerset House 2016.