26. Self Organised Architecture | SOA | HOUSING

In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Padraig Flynn and Tom O Donnell of SOA (Self Organised Housing). In the podcast the pair outline the origins of the group and the social, spatial and architectural potential of community-led housing. The pair present a realistic but optimistic way of understanding and providing housing in Ireland.

-

About SOA

SOA SOA is a not-for-profit action research think tank, formed in 2017 to research and promote cooperative and collaborative approaches to housing in Ireland. We study proven and successful UK, European and North American strategies and look at how these might be adapted to Ireland. In 2019 SOA hosted a series of events on the subject of Community-Led Housing, including an international conference which was attended by over 400 people. Building on the research base generated by this and other activities, throughout 2020 SOA have coordinated a comprehensive multi-stakeholder study to ‘Roadmap a Viable Community-Led Housing Sector for Ireland’. SOA are also currently the Irish partner in the EU Interreg Sustainable Housing for Inclusive and Cohesive Cities (SHICC) project, which seeks to support the establishment of more successful Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in cities across the North-West European region.

-

About Tom

-

Tom O’Donnell studied architecture at UCD and in 2000 completed an MPhil at Cambridge University under Peter Carl and Dalibor Vesely. He worked at Cork City Architect’s department on a number of public projects until 2007 and since then, has been in practice in Germany and Ireland. In 2017, he co-founded SOA Research CLG, an action research think tank to promote cooperative and collaborative approaches to housing and community development, where he is currently a co-director.

-

On Padraig

-

Padraig Flynn studied architecture in UCD, and currently works in practice with LiD Architecture, an Irish/Berlin architecture and research practice specialising in innovative housing and participative design techniques. Previous work at Cullen Payne Architects (Dublin) and Heren 5 Architecten (Amsterdam) included housing projects at a range of scales in Ireland, London and Amsterdam. Padraig is a founding director of SOA Research, and co-author with Tom of the recently published Roadmapping a Viable Community-Led Housing Sector for Ireland series, which outlines the development of a community-led housing infrastructure for Ireland. Music is by Sinead Finegan and is played by the Delmaine String Quartet. The podcast was recorded on zoom in May 2021.