Participatory building: How community construction takes engagement to a new level
Thu Dec 18 2025
You've heard of co-design and of course, community engagement, but what about participatory building? That's when people are invited on site to help build, fostering teamwork, imparting skills and empowering a neighbourhood. Working in collaboration with charity Global Generation, Dr Jan Kattein has been building community spaces with volunteers aged 6 to 76 on site – and redefining the role of the architect in shaping places.
On these sites, the process – not the final project – is the core purpose. That's a different kind of design challenge. And these are no ordinary construction sites – Global Generation has a mission to connect youth with nature, so they have used traditional techniques with natural materials such as cordwood, and volunteers have been busy making bricks, shakes and rammed earth walls, while youth apprentices have also been training on site.
“For two years, we’ve been making bricks out of clay… we’ve been making wooden shakes out of Sweet Chestnut… we’ve been building with earth…” says Kattein. “It’s a very inclusive process. All ages can participate,” says Kattein.
Kattein talks about the shifting role of the architect in participatory processes, the need to reduce carbon and embrace natural materials and the transformative power of construction: The moment when a child drags their parent to a building and says, "Mum, I helped build that part of the wall."
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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You've heard of co-design and of course, community engagement, but what about participatory building? That's when people are invited on site to help build, fostering teamwork, imparting skills and empowering a neighbourhood. Working in collaboration with charity Global Generation, Dr Jan Kattein has been building community spaces with volunteers aged 6 to 76 on site – and redefining the role of the architect in shaping places. On these sites, the process – not the final project – is the core purpose. That's a different kind of design challenge. And these are no ordinary construction sites – Global Generation has a mission to connect youth with nature, so they have used traditional techniques with natural materials such as cordwood, and volunteers have been busy making bricks, shakes and rammed earth walls, while youth apprentices have also been training on site. “For two years, we’ve been making bricks out of clay… we’ve been making wooden shakes out of Sweet Chestnut… we’ve been building with earth…” says Kattein. “It’s a very inclusive process. All ages can participate,” says Kattein. Kattein talks about the shifting role of the architect in participatory processes, the need to reduce carbon and embrace natural materials and the transformative power of construction: The moment when a child drags their parent to a building and says, "Mum, I helped build that part of the wall." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.