Busman’s holiday for CABE Space scholars

Four CABE Space scholars will travel abroad this summer to study car-free housing developments; outdoor learning spaces which appeal to children; industrial urban infrastructure and how trees can survive in hard urban landscapes.

The scholarships, which are part of CABE Space’s annual design skills programme, are designed for professionals who have not received any formal design training. They will include visits to successful projects abroad and an exploration of the design and delivery process. The programme builds on the success of last year’s programme, which gave scholars the opportunity to learn from design excellence in Europe, Scandinavia, America and Canada.

Neil Murphy, a 2009 CABE Space scholar learnt about green space in social housing schemes. He has already applied his learning to the design of green space in a 2,500 development in Milton Keynes and a 20,000 strong community in Harlow.

Sarah Gaventa, director of CABE Space said: “The design skills scholarship programme aims to address the lack of formal design training and experience available to people working to shape our public spaces.

“This year’s scholars have chosen some really exciting areas to investigate. They will share their knowledge and learning on their return, to make a real difference to the quality of our public realm.”
Rachel Morris, a regeneration officer in Greenwich, will visit industrial infrastructure projects such as railways in France and the USA and explore how high quality design can deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.

Sinead Gilhooly, head of regeneration projects at Stadium Housing Association in London, will visit car-free and car capped housing developments in Europe, Scandinavia and the USA to explore how they can improve the appearance and amenity value of urban streets.

Eleanor Johnson, a parks development officer for the London Borough of Hackney, will travel to the USA and Canada to explore best practice in the design of outdoor learning spaces to encourage children to spend more time outdoors.

Martin Gammie, an arboriculturist with South Oxfordshire District Council, will research the best ways of designing in street trees so they last. He will visit Sweden, USA and Canada.