Community
Rooted in collaboration and an understanding of place, our community work starts from a simple principle: design with people, not for them. Not parachuting in, but listening, and staying for the conversation.
Nyth is a community project developed from the grassroots up, delivering a vibrant performing arts, rehearsal and community space. Highly commended in the 2025 MacEwen Awards, the judges said “Manalo & White seem to have truly worked with and listened to young people to create something special for them.”
Colvestone Corner is a proposed retrofit, turning a Grade II-listed school into a place for community culture of every kind. Developed alongside local organisations, designers and activists, it takes on a straightforward question: who is the building for, and who profits from it? The answer — local people, keeping the value where it belongs — is what spatial justice means, in practice.
A community needs somewhere to meet, make, celebrate and organise. Architecture is as much about the interpersonal as it is about the building: it’s what lets people feel they belong — and ultimately take pride in their neighbourhood.
