Launch event: Community Design Research Lab
The Community Design Research Group (CDRG) has successfully secured funding from the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) to operate as a lab. It will now be known as the Community Design Research Lab (CDRL).
About this event
This event will begin with an introduction to CDRL and its journey from CDRG to CDRL.
A conversation will follow between Flora Samuel, Head of Department and Professor of Architecture (1970), University of Cambridge and Tina Saaby, Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor in Sustainable Urban Design for 2025–2026. They will discuss the importance of participatory methodologies in architecture and the built environment, and the need for multidisciplinary approaches. The conversation will highlight the significance of community research and the value of testing diverse methodologies, including live action research projects, within academic practice.
Please join us for drinks and networking after the conversation.
If you have any COVID symptoms or feel unwell, please do not attend the event in person. Contact [email protected] if you need any further assistance or have any questions.
For any queries related to the lab, please email the convener: Dr Ruchit Purohit at [email protected]
About the Speakers
Tina Saaby is the Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor in Sustainable Urban Design for 2025–2026. Tina is an accomplished architect (MAA) and urban planner with extensive leadership experience in both public and private sectors. With a career spanning over two decades, she has played a pivotal role in shaping urban development in Denmark. As former City Architect of Copenhagen (2010–2019) and Gladsaxe (2020–2023), Tina has led transformative planning initiatives focused on sustainability, democratic processes, and design quality. She is currently the Director of the Danish Town Planning Institute, where she champions proactive, inclusive, and climate-conscious planning on a national scale. Known for her strong professional network, strategic mindset, and deep commitment to improving the built environment, Tina is a leading voice in contemporary urban planning.
Flora Samuel is Head of Department and Professor of Architecture (1970) at the University of Cambridge. She has been Principal Investigator on projects such as the Public Map Platform, The Cambridge Room, and Community Consultation for Quality of Life. Flora is passionate about advancing research in architectural practice, as reflected in her book Why Architects Matter (2019). She was the first RIBA Vice President for Research and has twice been elected to RIBA Council. Flora has led the development of several influential reports, including the Value of Architecture report for the Architects Council of Europe and the RIBA’s Building Knowledge: Pathways to Post Occupancy Evaluation report.
About the Lab
The Community Design Research Lab (CDRL) is a research system designed to generate positive impact within communities. Our world and society are complex systems and to make a positive change we aim to operate as a research system inside the community to identify key leverage points for positive change.
As a system, the CDRL comprises three components: (1) elements, (2) interconnections, and (3) a function or purpose. The elements are ordinary citizens, the community, and our multidisciplinary group from various research areas (sub-systems). CDRL’s main purpose is to empower communities by creating a platform where they can take agency in shaping. Our work is driven by the pursuit of resilient, adaptable, and anti-fragile communities. Our primary function is the application of research knowledge and innovation directly to the community.
In collaboration with CRASSH , the CDRL will use the platform to collectively experiment with methodological practices, that could than inform the Cambridge Room methodology. Our common aim in CDRL and Urban Rooms is to humanise the planning and consultation process, and to introduce care to the process so that it could be more inclusive and plural in a way that cultivates and leverages the political energies of ordinary citizens.
For further details:
https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/research/research-labs/community-design-research-lab/#1-about