Creating an Inclusive Architectural Intervention as a Research Space to Explore Community Well-being

Abstract

This paper outlines a 2-year active design research project coordinated in collaboration with Public Health Northern Ireland and set in the city of Derry/Londonderry to explore how inclusive design methodologies can produce interventions to improve community well-being. The research focuses on the waterfront of the River Foyle and how an inclusive architectural intervention challenged the areas’ negative associations. In the last decade, the waterfront has become synonymous with mental health crisis and suicide. This has led to the phrase ‘I’m ready for the Foyle’ becoming embedded within the communities’ language as a colloquial term for stress. This project seeks to extend inclusive design within the community, creating well-being spaces around the bridges and banks of the river, with outcomes focused on drawing people to the area as a place of celebration and life-affirming activities. The project has helped to develop Inclusive Design as a means of engaging a whole city in the redesign of public spaces for improved well-being.