Assemble are working with the Granby Four Streets CLT to refurbish 10 derelict terraced houses on Cairns St in the neighbourhood of Toxteth in Liverpool. The project is the result of a hard-won, 20 year battle by local residents to save the houses from demolition.

Residents reclaimed and planted their streets, painted the empty houses, organized a thriving monthly market and founded a Community Land Trust. Assemble have worked with them to translate their resourceful and DIY attitude into the refurbishment of housing, helping the CLT provide affordable housing for local residents that remains in community ownership. The houses use simple & low cost materials and include a number of playful, handmade architectural elements that help re-establish the character of the homes following their long neglect.

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Cairns Street, Assemble, Liverpool, UK, refurbishment, social architecture, citizen participation, restoration, Toxteth
N48_CUTOUT OF NO.48 CAIRNS ST WHERE THE PROJECT TEAM WAS WORKING FROM AND LIVING IN DURING 2015.

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Assemble are a collective based in London who work across the fields of art, architecture and design. They began working together in 2010 and are comprised of 18 members. Assemble’s working practice seeks to address the typical disconnection between the public and the process by which places are made. Assemble champion a working practice that is interdependent and collaborative, seeking to actively involve the public as both participant and collaborator in the on-going realisation of the work.

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