The Bartlett
Summer Show 2026
25 June – 12 July
Summer Show 2026
The Bartlett
Summer Show 2026
Explore
Summer Show 2026
unit-code
Close
![The literature review consults theories and current phenomena in feminist political economy, social capital, and urban spatial theory to frame contemporary parenting realities and ground the ethnographic study within adjacent fields of scholarship.]()
![Four sequential maps trace the spatial distribution of childcare labour. Each iteration builds on the one prior, while uncovering a different dimension of the site to understand how spatial configuration shapes communal childcare in each site.]()
![Based on on-site observations of movement and furniture use, these diagrams illustrate how caregivers (green) and children (pink) adapt to their surroundings and deviate from typical use, re-framing and reclaiming space for childcare.]()
![Orbital diagrams map social connections among site users, revealing the social capital available to primary caregivers and resultant unique redistributions of labour that occur when childcare is supported by social circles beyond just blood kin.]()
![This figure presents key spatial aspirations for collective care as open principles rather than prescriptive rules. It is meant as a resource for designing inclusive spaces that improve caregiver and child experience through community involvement.]()
It Takes A Village
'It takes a village to raise a child.' The image of the village is representative of collective care. Yet for all its romanticised nostalgia, what measures can we take to redistribute the labour of childcare in today’s care crisis?
Central to the thesis is the acknowledgement of childcare as a consuming work of high social importance that should be addressed as a public concern. Approaching the issue from a grassroots perspective, the project engages the people and places championing collaborative childcare in urban third spaces.
Three case studies were identified as Villages that endorse community presence in childcare and address the lacuna of communal childcare in cities. They cover a range of typologies and temporal histories while being clearly delineated, enclosed buildings that facilitate focused spatial study and ethnographic fieldwork. On-site ethnographic fieldwork generates rich, distinct and mutually informative primary insights into recurring and replicable spatial strategies.
Together, contextual grounding and experiential observations produce an open set of recommendations that help designers approach caregiving-friendly design.
Host Practice | Tigg Coll
Childcare, Capital, and the City
The literature review consults theories and current phenomena in feminist political economy, social capital, and urban spatial theory to frame contemporary parenting realities and ground the ethnographic study within adjacent fields of scholarship.
Configuring for Collaboration
Four sequential maps trace the spatial distribution of childcare labour. Each iteration builds on the one prior, while uncovering a different dimension of the site to understand how spatial configuration shapes communal childcare in each site.
Adapting Space, Reclaiming Narrative
Based on on-site observations of movement and furniture use, these diagrams illustrate how caregivers (green) and children (pink) adapt to their surroundings and deviate from typical use, re-framing and reclaiming space for childcare.
The Villager Network
Orbital diagrams map social connections among site users, revealing the social capital available to primary caregivers and resultant unique redistributions of labour that occur when childcare is supported by social circles beyond just blood kin.
Designing the Village for Collective Care
This figure presents key spatial aspirations for collective care as open principles rather than prescriptive rules. It is meant as a resource for designing inclusive spaces that improve caregiver and child experience through community involvement.
Explore
Coming soon