[3] The Brighton Co-op

Location

Brighton,

Build Start

August 1996

Architect

Walter Segal

Total Floor Area

840 m²

[Source: UNKNOWN]

The cooperative build in Brighton showed an impressive display of collaboration, as friends and families joined forces to construct their dream homes and escaping social housing. With unconventional build methods and a focus on sustainability, it served as a remarkable example of communal self-building, inspiring in its shared vision and determination.

Site Purchase Price

£ 0

Site Area

UNKNOWN

Site Cost Per m²

UNKNOWN

Initial Budget

£ 106105

Total Spend

£ 106105

Budget Overspend

Cost Per m²

UNKNOWN

Site Coverage

UNKNOWN

Plot Ratio

UNKNOWN

All Figures Indexed To

UNKNOWN

Construction Type

Segal Method, Timber Frame

Materials

Douglas Fir, Larch, Oak

Features

Accessible Build Philosophy, Balcony, Cheap Construction, Communal Land, Easy Construction, Eco-Friendly, Outdoor Living Space, Views

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Lessons Learned

– In community builds it is a good idea to set up a creche onsite to relieve the pressure of childcare. #LL/Project_Management

– Maintaining a vision of the finished building can help motivate and inspire you to continue building. Completely finish one building or room so that this encourages completion of the others. #LL/Inspiration

– Try to get the external building tasks scheduled for the warmer months and the internal building works scheduled for the colder months. #LL/Scheduling

– Try to get financing that is released at the correct stages of the build so that it doesn’t slow down or overburden the project. #LL/Funding

– Understand when a task is completed and don’t over perfect. #LL/Project_Management

– Longer projects require a lot more sweat equity. #LL/Planning

– Get as comfortable with the design as possible, i.e., get a 3D rendering walkthrough and detailed plans, sleep on the decisions made, tinker in the digital world etc. When building the property, stick with the design as much as possible and don’t change it unless necessary. #LL/Design

– Community led building projects build a relationship with the neighbours before they become neighbours. It can strengthen bonds and improve the community spirit. #LL/Inspiration

– Community Builds give skills and experience that you can’t get anywhere else. #LL/Inspiration

– Lower rents (financial burdens) allow the occupants to work in more social type vocations after the build which further enhances the larger community. #LL/Inspiration

– Sweat equity is often thought of as a trade of human energy for financial equity. But in reality, the human energy is stored in the community build and is returned for decades to come. #LL/Inspiration

Acknowledgment:

This is a non-commercial review carried out for the purposes of study in developing an understanding of the requirements of self-build in the UK.

The views and opinions expressed are my own and is not affiliated in any way with Grand Designs or Channel 4. All information on this page has been gathered from publicly available sources.

The plot/site information was located using Land Registry and The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Data which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The lessons learned are derived from my interpretations and observations of a publicly disseminated case study and are in no way meant to be a substitute to the original.

Click here to view the original case study on the Channel 4 website.