Architecture Fringe 2019: Reclaiming the Commons at The Shieling Project
An event curated for the Archictecture Fringe 2019 , exploring the shieling (Gaelic: àirigh) as an ecological building tradition and motif for learning and education - reconnecting with the land, reclaiming the commons and rekindling community.
Across the globe, people are rediscovering 'the commons' as a way to describe the kinds of relationships between people, resources, and power that foster community resilience, ecological stewardship and democratised decision making. At The Shieling Project, we imagine the tradition of ‘the shieling’ - the summer pastures where people used to graze cattle, living in huts or shelters on common land - as a context for imaginatively reclaiming the commons.
With guest speakers Lesley Riddoch on what takes to make our visions a reality, not in a far-off future, but in the places and spaces we occupy today; and artist Julia Heslop, talking about the community project ‘Dwellbeing’ in Newcastle, which uses the symbol of 'shieling' to widen imaginations about the future of an urban community.
