In 2010 RESET conducted community consultation and facilitating participatory planning of a sustainable roof design in the centre of Dalston. The project itself was coordinated by the charity Bootstrap Company, the owners of ‘The Print House’, the historic building on top of which the roof park will be developed. The focus of RESET’s work during the initial feasibility stage was to support Bootstrap to develop an appropriate brief in response to the needs of the local community, and help develop appropriate educational training programmes and workshops.

Bootstrap Company is a charitable development trust working in the centre of Dalston, Hackney, north London. The Trust manages workspaces for small, creative and social businesses and the community and voluntary sector. One of Bootstrap Company’s core objectives is to improve the environment in Dalston by developing and implementing creative and sustainable plans for the regeneration of the area. Dalston is currently the second most deprived council area in England and has very little access to green space. In Dalston only 12% of its land is devoted to green space while the London average is 38%. It has a thriving diverse community with a tradition of small local businesses.

The roof is an opportunity to take advantage of the unused space on the roof of the building, to make a public space where the local community can enjoy being outside in a natural environment in the heart of Dalston. The project has been accepted as part of the Mayor of London’s “Great Spaces” initiative, championing public spaces that currently have poor access or are unwelcoming or unattractive.

This project will provide some much needed green space in Dalston. Thie visions of this roof is to be used to engage and inspire the local community in ecology and biodiversity, healthy food growing and eating and other aspects of . It will also be an exemplar example of sustainable public green space that illustrates the benefits of green spaces at roof level – storm water retention, local air cooling and filtering of air pollution, local humidification, increased biodiversity, extended life of the roof etc.

UPDATE:

In September, as part of RESET's ongoing training programme, a one day design charette using the roof space at the Print House as a tool for discussing the opportunities available to architects when encompassing whole systems thinking into the design process.

Pictures of this workshop can be viewed here...

Dalston Roof Park grow bags, Bootstrap Company, Spring 2010