Urban Nature - Friendship House Part 1 Project 2000 Angela Silva-Jones London Metropolitan University | UK Urban Nature - Friendship House.New social structures are evolving out of greater personal freedoms and expectations. These structures manifest different kinds of occupancy in the city, which challenge the traditional values of the nuclear family unit as the social ideal. As a result new kinds of space have to be generated to accommodate a new and evolving social order. Friendship House is a design for shared living and working space.Cities have to be made more sustainable. Urban agriculture is one strategy for achieving sustainability. The implications of urban agriculture provide a new context for work, trade and habitation. The design demonstrates a building type which integrates habitation and agriculture in building and crop strips.The economics of sustainability are considered in every aspect of the building program. The building strip is a light weight, low impact, thermally efficient steel and timber structure which can be easily constructed and maintained, using materials from local, renewable and recyclable resources.The implications of the strategy for the site in Southwark are focused on urban regeneration with the specific purpose of providing a catalyst for greater community interaction. Urban Nature - Friendship House.The work of Angela Silva-Jones is rooted in concerns for the city and its inhabitants. It is a specific response to a broad range of concerns. This work is sited in an area of south London (Elephant and Castle) which is preparing to undergo redevelopment as a result of winning funding from central government's Single Regeneration Budget. The proposal is for shared dwellings and greenhouses set in a productive landscape. It responds, with a critical eye, to concerns raised by the local community. The strength of this work comes from a particular and consistent way of working, derived from a measured assessment of context. Early studies which attempt to understand the physicality and scale of the site inform spatial strategies which respond to wider social concerns. The resultant vision is tight and clear, making a coherent architectural proposal in response to social, economic and environmental concerns.