Vanessa Farinha shares and expands upon their research into the legacy and future of social housing in the UK. Joined by architect Antje Saunders (Design Director, SNG), they explore both personal and professional perspectives on these often-stigmatised architectural environments, and consider how co-design approaches might contribute to more sustainable and inclusive housing futures.
Vanessa Farinha is a multi-disciplinary Artist & Producer. Her work explores the experience of the built environment and hybrid identity as a tool for understanding.
She recently completed a development programme with the De La Warr Pavilion and Flatland Projects, and has shown work with MOCA London, Hastings Contemporary, LADA, and Via Farini, among others. She is a member of Common Clay and the Babes in Arms artist/mother collective.
Vanessa has produced work for artists including Amie Siegel, Zineb Sedira, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Nick Cave, and Nick Ballon, as well as for institutions such as Home Live Art, Channel 4, South London Gallery, and Art on the Underground.
Antje Saunders is Design Director at SNG, bringing extensive experience from her previous role as Director and Architect at Allies and Morrison, London.
She has played a key role in large mixed-use and housing-led masterplans, including the Olympic Legacy, and co-founded the practice’s Masterplanning Group, providing client support for the King’s Cross Masterplan.
Antje worked on the regeneration of Fosters Estate in Hendon – a co-design masterplan that explores ways of delivering much-needed affordable housing within an existing estate, through close collaboration with the local community. Her experience in estate regeneration spans from the 16.5-hectare Gascoigne Estate in Barking to smaller-scale infill projects such as Fairbanks Road in Tottenham Hale.
Most recently, Antje led the regeneration of Uplands Business Park in Waltham Forest, a masterplan co-locating innovative industrial typologies with up to 1,800 homes. Building on this experience and designing according to Agent of Change principles, she also led the masterplan for Knights Road in West Silvertown, which delivers 1,400 new homes, workspaces, and a stacked industrial building.