REGEN
ReportCircularity

Co-making and Prototyping Community Housing Futures

A research report on a Living Lab in Bridport, UK, exploring how rural communities can use digital fabrication and local materials like hemp and ash timber to build affordable, community-led housing.

Alejandro Veliz Reyes, Alexandra Carr, Tim Crabtree·12 min read·22 pages

Key findings

  • 01Digital fabrication often relies on imported standardized materials, but 'automation-in-place' adapts these tools to local, raw timber and agricultural bypass.
  • 02The 'Living Lab' model at Denhay Farm enables residents and builders to prototype building elements together, bridging the digital skills gap in rural areas.
  • 03Using local ash and hemp promotes regenerative agriculture and circularity while reducing the carbon footprint of construction supply chains.
  • 04Participatory design serves as 'socio-technical infrastructuring,' empowering marginalized communities to influence regional housing policy and land use.

For

Community land trusts, municipal planners, social architects, digital fabrication researchers, rural development agencies.

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