ABSTRACT
The PLACE/Ladywell is a high-profile local response to the homelessness crisis in London, an architect-designed project with business spaces and 24 well-proportioned homes for homeless/insecurely housed families in the London Borough of Lewisham. The scheme, which opened to residents in 2016, is planned and built as a temporary modular structure, fully demountable, which can be moved across ‘meanwhile’ sites, over a total lifespan of around 60 years. The scheme addresses three aspects of the housing problem: the need for good quality temporary housing to house families while the older social housing schemes are regenerated; raising the profile and readiness of derelict sites awaiting long-term development; and experimenting with new methods of housing development and provision and developing the capacity of the modular construction industry in line with government policy. The scheme has found instant popularity with media and policy-makers, in spite of its incapacity to mitigate Lewisham’s homelessness, or provide tenants the reassurance of permanent housing. It is being replicated both within the borough and across London, partly funded by London’s regional authority. This paper explores the extent to which a scheme such as PLACE/Ladywell measures up as a locality-sensitive and responsive intervention addressing spatial injustices and the needs of homeless families. It examines whether the project constitutes a pioneering niche-innovation for construction and planning, or a publicly funded experiment in the production of urban space and rent on marginal sites.
