We have forged active ways of working with communities by developing the ‘Set-up Shop’ planning process. This allows people one-to-one creative input into the design and planning of their towns and public spaces. Shops, caravans, or community halls are used as forums for interactive consultation processes which usually last from three days to two weeks. Plans and ideas are generated through ‘co-design’ processes such as sketch interviews, group mapping and visioning, and open-shop drop-in centres.
We have run over fifty ‘Set-up Shops’ throughout Australia. Our goal of achieving sustainable placemaking leads us to play an evolutionary role over a period of many years in the design and planning of towns. Our placemaking begins at the whole-of-town level and continues through the design and construction phases. Community engagement, activations and installations form part of a process of tactical and temporal urbanism. We aim to facilitate and celebrate local culture.