The era of austerity following the financial crisis heralded a decline in public services and the retreat of the state from the direct provision of ‘care’. This project presents an alternative model of care, developing a symbiotic relationship between state and civil society that empowers communities to care for both the people and places that comprise them.

Embedded in the neighbourhood of Gospel Oak, London, the proposal builds on the area’s existing social and spatial infrastructure, including surviving state institutions and local organisations. In the process, the project explores an expanded role for the architect, giving a voice to those often excluded from local decision-making and allowing them to shape the spaces and systems that impact their daily lives.

The resulting architecture takes the form of a quilt, extending a sense of communal ownership and care over the wider urban fabric. Historically, these items have expressed social solidarity, incorporating diverse materials and patterns while conveying a common purpose. Initially comprised of a series of smaller strategic architectural interventions, these are patched together as an incrementally growing quilt, continuously adapted by multiple contributors. The unbounded quilt presents an adaptive and open-ended vision, stitching together the existing patchwork of Gospel Oak.