Community
We design with people, not for them. Sometimes those people are fellow campaigners; sometimes they’re a community we’ve only just met. Either way, the work starts with listening.
Nyth, a Welsh-language performing arts and community project, was 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 will turn a Grade II-listed former school into a place for community culture of every kind. Developed with local organisations, designers and activists, it asks a straightforward question: who is this place for, and who profits from it? The answer is local people keeping the value where it belongs. That’s what spatial justice means, in practice.
A community needs somewhere to meet, make, celebrate and organise. Design is as much about the interpersonal as it is about the building: it’s what lets people feel they belong, and take pride in their neighbourhood.
