Church Grove, the home where the community made itself
in ARCHITETTURA | architecture
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.
Imagine a world where you can design and build your own home affordably, even without any prior construction experience. This was the radical vision of Walter Segal (1907 – 1985), a Swiss architect (naturalized English) who challenged traditional housing methods in the mid-20th century. Segal’s concept was simple but revolutionary: develop a wood frame system that allowed for easy construction by anyone, regardless of their skills. This method eliminated the need to undertake specialized tasks such as bricklaying and plastering, making the process quicker and more accessible. The houses were built on stilts, avoiding the need for extensive foundation work, further streamlining construction. Segal’s vision extended beyond the simple construction process. He believed in empowering communities and promoting a sense of ownership. His self-building approach encouraged collaboration and mutual aid, fostering a spirit of togetherness among residents.
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.
Segal’s approach was not without challenges. Fire safety and financial sustainability concerns have sometimes necessitated changes to its original plans. However, the fundamental principles of affordability, community involvement and environmental awareness remain extremely relevant in today’s housing landscape. As the search for innovative and sustainable housing solutions continues, Walter Segal’s radical vision offers a compelling alternative. By empowering individuals and promoting a sense of community, his self-building approach has the potential to transform the way we think about and build our homes.
© SEH Architects I Church Grove.
An example of its legacy is Lewisham, a neighborhood in south London. Here, in the late 1980s, Lewisham Council embraced Segal’s method, leading to the creation of innovative housing projects such as Segal Close and Walters Way totaling as many as 20 homes. These interventions have put the potential of self-building housing into practice, offering residents affordable, high-quality homes that they have helped create. More recently, another project in Lewisham confirms the relevance of this building practice. I am referring to the Church Grove, a residential intervention, promoted by the Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) and recently completed, which represents the synthesis between social income, shared ownership, self-construction and a strong focus on sustainability.
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.
The site where the new complex stands today was certainly not welcoming in the past. Neglected for years, it was home to an abandoned school and a dilapidated industrial area. The project gained planning permission from Lewisham Council in 2018. Work began in 2022 and completed in 2023. The initial concept was a Passivhaus scheme, featuring a timber frame and structural cladding. This technical solution, however, raised doubts regarding fire safety. Furthermore, during market tests, conducted in 2019, the project proved to be financially infeasible compared to the initial budget. It was then realized that the scheme required revision to enable the successful delivery of the new housing. RUSS then turned to SEH Architects (Shepheard Epstein Hunter) who, working closely with residents and the local administration, revisited and improved the project while respecting the client’s original requirements to the point of even increasing the number of accommodations from 33 to 36. Furthermore, thanks to the diversity of typologies, dimensions and levels of self-construction, a mixed community made up of people from different contexts has settled in the local area, as hoped for by Walter Segal forty years ago.
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.
The design choice adopted by SEH Architects can be summarized in the fabric-first formula, aimed at reducing carbon emissions. The shell and structural materials include fiber cement cladding, which earns an A+ summary rating in the BRE Green guide; and concrete that uses GGBS (ground granulated blast furnace slag), a waste product, as a binder in place of Portland cement. GBBS is an exceptional material that requires less than a fifth of the energy to produce and produces less than a fifteenth of the carbon dioxide emissions of Portland cement. Photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps provide domestic hot water, while efficient mechanical ventilation with heat recovery minimizes energy consumption.
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.
The housing allocation took place in March 2016 at Lewisham Town Hall through an assessment process to select residents. One of the principles of RUSS is that residents should contribute to major decisions that will define their living environment. Residents were involved in a series of co-design sessions in 2016, 2017 and 2020 with SEH designers under the guidance of self-building facilitator, Jon Broome. More than just houses, Church Grove fosters a sense of community, with residents who have a common interest in the environment in which they live, literally contributing to the construction of their own piece of the neighborhood. This experience serves as a testimony and an example to be adopted in other realities, where the power of participation is capable of transforming a depressed area into a pleasant and sustainable piece of the city.
© Richard Chivers I Church Grove.