The Beautiful Earth Commons – Shared spaces. Collective dreams. Grounded in the earth.
The commons are the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth.
This is where I share sketches, projects, and moments from my work with communities—spaces that are collaborative, sustainable, and deeply rooted in the earth. Each piece is a testament to the power of co-creation, participatory design, and the beauty of shared resources.
Common Ground CoHousing
Wicklow, Ireland
From 2018 to 2020, I was a member of Common Ground CoHousing in Wicklow, a project rooted in low-impact living, affordability, and community governance. Inspired by the LILAC model in Leeds, we set up a Community Land Trust (CLT) using a Mutual Home Ownership Society (MHOS) model and Sociocracy for governance. My role in the Design Circle was to facilitate workshops that allowed us to co-create our brief, discuss typologies, lifestyles, and dream together.
I designed and facilitated participatory workshops, guiding the community through “dreaming” and “backcasting” exercises. This allowed us to clarify our wants and needs, map out shared spaces, and consider our long-term lifestyle requirements together. The result? A spatial strategy that emerged from playful, inclusive conversations—proof that community-led design can balance big ideas with real-world practicality.
Eco-Village Explorations
Global (2016–2018)
A two-year immersion across European and South American intentional communities, mapping out low-impact housing layouts and permaculture systems. This research grew from a crowdfunded project where I stayed in and studied 20 international intentional communities, exploring how daily habits, spatial layouts, and community governance work together.
I led hands-on field research, observing how people interact with public and community spaces. On Findhorn Beach in Scotland, I worked with locals to create simple stone lines and circles, noticing how people engaged with them. These observations became the foundation for workshops with international volunteers, where we:
- Prototyped a tiny house ecovillage layout.
- Created a “Ghost House” design installation in Sweden.
- Built temporary, modular shade structures in Spain.
- Created interactive land art
This work taught me how small, thoughtful interventions can transform shared spaces—and how simple, playful tools can bridge cultures and generations.
Cloughjordan Residency
Cloughjordan Eco-Village, Ireland (2023)
During the Making Neighbourhoods residency, I explored how playful design tools can activate community connections and spatial relationships. Alongside two other artists, I co-created an interactive community game that naturally bridged generational divides. This allowed schoolchildren and older residents to explore neighbourhood layouts together in a playful, relaxed way—proving that design can be a bridge, not just a blueprint.
