Blackbird Leys Community Centre Breaks Ground!
Wongani went out to the site in Blackbird Leys on Wednesday, 25th March, for the ground-breaking ceremony of the new community centre. It was fantastic to see good progress, and the building is expected to be ready for interior fitting by the end of summer 2027.
In 2025, we were shortlisted for the Pineapple Awards in the Community Engagement category, and Wongani got to present our work at the Festival of Place. You can find out more about our Blackbird Leys Community Centre community engagement.
Wongani Judging at the Pineapple Awards
On Tuesday, 24th March, Wongani was judging the Pineapple Awards alongside Karoline Soisalo de Mendonça, Regeneration Manager, Oxford City Council and Julian Tollast, Former Head of Masterplanning and Design, Quintain Limited. They are judging the Future Place: Under 2ha category, which includes a wide range of schemes across the country. You can see the shortlisted projects here.
Continuing to Design Affordable Housing across Three Garage Sites in Oxford
We’re still continuing to progress plans for affordable housing in Oxford City. Two of which are a partnership with Oxfordshire Community Land Trust, and one with Oxford City Council directly.
This is all off the back of work that we completed in 2021 through the previous LGA-funded Housing Advisors’ programme called ‘Mapping and development of garage sites in Oxford for community-led affordable housing‘, which was a report we delivered in partnership with OCLT and OCC.
Bowden Pillars: Shaping the Future of Land
For those following our work on community-led housing and regenerative design, we recommend keeping an eye on the Bowden Pillars Future project. We are working with this wonderful community just outside Totnes, Devon, alongside Incremental. If you’d like to stay informed about our progress or find out how you can support their vision for a regenerative future, you can sign up for their newsletter here.
Studio Life: Spring is Coming
Finally, back at the studio, we’re delighted to embrace the changing season. The cherry blossom trees in front of the Makespace building are starting to bloom beautifully. There’s a fresh energy in the air, with longer, sunnier days and the cheerful songs of birds.
Wishing you all a wonderful start to Spring!
Got a community project that you’d like to work together with us on, or a retrofit to your home, or any other design needs?
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