Urban Studies Committee - Trust Annual Report 1989
The main pre-occupation of this Committee has been the organisation of a pilot study to be known as the Chippindale Venture, which will take place in October 1989. This will involve 48 eleven year old children from two Winchester schools, who will be set an exercise to consider, prepare and present ideas for an imaginary Visitors/Heritage Centre on an important site within the City. The children will be divided into teams, each led by an architect and, on 20th October, the projects will be presented to planning officers and elected Council members on the lines of a Planning Application procedure. By this process it is hoped that the children will become aware not only of the history of the site (the area between the Law Courts and Hampshire County Architects Department) but of some of the problems of designing a building in the context of existing materials, spaces and forms and of the procedures involved in obtaining planning permission.
If this pilot study is a success, it is hoped that it will be repeated in future years.
We believe that this project will be very worthwhile and could be of increasing importance in the future and a worthy memorial to Frank Chippindale who, amongst multifarious interests, was particularly concerned that young people should be more aware of their inheritance and the importance of the built environment.
Preparations for this venture involve an immense amount of work and great credit is due to the Committee under its Chairman, Keith Leaman and its Hon. Secretary, Dot Browning.