We have worked with a number of community groups wanting a base for meeting, training, social events.

In each case our role has begun with helping people to decide what they want to be able to do; what activities and what groups they want to accommodate. We then work with them to explore what spaces might provide for their needs, and will then work towards sketch design ideas.

Initial meetings might use anything from games to listmaking and brainstorming. Corrugated cardboard is a favourite ingredient of design workshops to look at possible layouts, along with simple "jigsaws" of building spaces which people can experiment with.

Once we start to give form to people's ideas, we tend to use 3D CAD software so we can quickly produce visualisations which show - with remarkable realism - what it would be like to walk through the building and to use it.

The same tools make discussions with other professionals - planners and cost consultants - easier. We try to make the design process accessible and fun.

We worked with CoYC Libraries and Adult Learning staff to put together proposals for transforming Acomb branch library into an Adult Learning Centre.

This involved showing how the existing building could be extended and altered to provide both additional multi-purpose spaces and vastly improved entrance and reception facilities to make the building more open and more welcoming - to attract people who normally wouldn't use the library (reception area below).