This strand of work emerges from my doctoral research and ongoing collaboration with Izabel Galvao.
We co-organised a one-day workshop, in May 2023, that emerged from a desire to put into perspective an action-research-led evaluation of Les Cinq Toits, a solidarity-led hybrid space run by the Association Aurore and Plateau Urbain between 2018 and 2023 in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Our work shows the centrality of practices of “making/doing with” when doing work with people in situations of exile and great precarity.
A collaborative workshop space called “La Bricole” was built on the site of Les Cinq Toits and it hosted many such practices. When Les Cinq Toits project closed, these workshop spaces were dismantled and a second version of “La Bricole” was scheduled to be rebuilt at La Station Gare des Mines in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. This renewal was a perfect opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned through attending to the lives of materials and those who build and use such a space.
La Bricole is based on an articulation of both the care of things and the care of others. This is articulated in the mobilization of people of various statuses (such as professionals in the field of architecture and construction, social work, people in precarious situations, craftsmen and artists, or neighbours), as well as in a concern for the environment through the reuse of materials, the use of natural fibres or of traditional carpentry methods.
The participatory workshop presented an opportunity to link the experience of La Bricole with research in the humanities and social sciences that are interested in making/doing with, and to open this reflection to a multitude of other similar initiatives that seek to articulate approaches of accompaniment and modalities of attention to objects, materials and things. What forms do they take and what do they make possible? The exchanges aim to share stories of experiences in order to show the forms and possibilities of these spaces of manufacture, creation, DIY, to weave together ways of living with dignity and respect for human and non-human others in the interstices of the city.
The day was held in the newly rebuilt “La Bricole” and included an in situ presentation of the site by members of the construction team, as well as elements from the study of Les Cinq Toits conducted by myself and Izabel Galvao in 2022-2023.
Practitioners and researchers were invited to shared experience through round tables, group exchanges, writing, modelling.
We explored two main themes: “Vulnerability as a strength?” and “Transformation in practices and knowledges”.
Contributors included: Alice Cluzeau (architect), Camille Vancheri (social worker), Michaël Mosset (coordinator La Bricole), Juliette Delestre (psychologist), Octave Glaume (architect), Carole Baeza (researcher), Cécile Offroy (artist and researcher), Izabel Galvao (researcher), Pascal Nicolas Le-Strat (researcher) and myself.
Bastien Simon drew live watercolour sketches throughout the day, sharing them as he went along.
