Building up Kairos in north London

A few months ago, Kairos bought a second house in Limesdale Gardens, Brent, creating (together with one rented property) three Kairos houses in a row. This is a unique opportunity to develop our community in north London.

CRASH, the building industry charity, is once again supporting and facilitating the development of Kairos move-on housing. And it was through CRASH that a five-strong team from Child Graddon Lewis Architects volunteered their professional services last week and swapped their Shoreditch office for a living-room table in Burnt Oak.

Led by Sophie Hanrahan, Aimee Thompson, Moni Rahman, Patrick White and Arun Baybars met with Kairos director Mossie Lyons, support worker Frank McDonald and residents before setting about investigating and measuring every aspect of the two owned houses, inside and out. After lunch, they drew up preliminary plans that would allow for five extra bedrooms, new bathrooms and an extended kitchen, and which will form the basis of a planning application to Brent council.

The day was a success on many levels. As one of the CGL Architects volunteers said: “I really appreciated meeting the residents and getting a chance to understand the vital work that Kairos does. For me the sense of community and people reaching out to help each other really shone through.” Another said: “I hope our ideas will be helpful in developing and expanding this Kairos facility in the future, making the most of their resources, and hopefully play a part in creating a great place to live for their clients.”

“It was a pleasure and a privilege to have the team from CGL Architects and CRASH at Limesdale,” says Mossie Lyons. \”What happened there today was special – a cooperative day with a gentle rhythm and purpose, where the real beneficiaries will be those who are struggling to get their lives back on track. We are enormously grateful and the work done that opens up real potential for future development.”

www.cgluk.com

www.crash.org.uk