Material Matters Learning Journey
 Civic Square x Material Cultures





Feel free to look at our Reglections via this zine


Material Matters is a hands-on, practical learning journey for people interested in the material transition of our homes, streets and neighbourhoods to collectively move towards a low-carbon, regenerative built environment that supports an ecologically safe and socially just planet for all life, both human and the more-than-human.

Participation will primarily take the form of four hands-on in person workshops each centred around a working with different natural materials alongside some theoretical knowledge in relation to the material. These in person sessions will be supported by online sessions and an optional learning visit. The series will wrap up with a collaborative launch of our research report through a creative showcase in the form of a ‘material farmers market’ which all workshop peers are invited to contribute.


Through Retrofit Reimagined 2023 we unpacked the bonds, flows and entanglements between land, material and people together with many people and partners across the UK, bringing into sharp focus the possibilities for addressing the inequalities of wider, interlinked systems together, of which our built environment sits at the heart.

This year, we are continuing to learn in the open together through the practical application of unearthing our material approach to the retrofit and construction of the Neighbourhood Public Square, demonstrating regenerative civic infrastructure in the heart of Ladywood, Birmingham to co-build and democratise access to the spaces, tools and resources for a distributed and regenerative transition, held in common for the neighbourhood.

We are very excited to have partnered with Material Cultures to conduct research identifying and mapping regenerative, low-carbon natural resources, along with waste streams of productive sites, across our ecoregion to help directly inform our approach to material use in planning to co-build the Neighbourhood Public Square together.

The Material Matters learning journey is designed to open up this research and create a space for us to work out loud together. Running from May to September 2024, over four months we will learn together through dynamic exchanges with a range of peers from across the UK.


Guided by the knowledge and expertise of Material Cultures and associate practitioners, we will develop a working knowledge of biomaterials, ecoregional approaches to materials, as well as practical skills for their application across different scales and capacities. Our common goal will be to share knowledge, ideas and energy openly and generously in order to take action in our various contexts, whether that be through organising in your home, street, neighbourhood, workplace and more, with a focus on live and regular practice in your place.