These shelters were created through design-led process offering an alternative to the mass-produced products available through catalogues. 

Commissioned through Midlands Architecture & Design Environment and the Government office for the West Midlands, the idea of these projects is that each shelter would be unique, reflecting a different design response to people and place and each will be the result of a collaboration between young people, artist and architect.

In the centre of a traffic island in Wolverhampton and reached only by subway the first space had been used to create a skate park for young people. In collaboration with artist Gwen Heeney we developed two designs during a number of workshops, in which the young people took a central role. The form is derived from the analysis of the movement of skaters as they perform tricks and moves, creating a form that blurs the distinction between art and architecture.

Amington Shelter was developed over a series of workshops held on site and draws its inspiration from the leaves and trees that surround it. The dynamic form is derived from a maple leaf that has been folded to create shelter, enclosure and seating and since its completion has become a landmark within the local community.