From 2012 to 2016, Futurecity curated Habitorials: A Showground for Real Living as part of its site-wide cultural programme at Great Kneighton. Led by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk and collaborator Britt Jurgensen, the project was a pioneering creative intervention designed to bring together incoming and existing communities during a time of significant development and change.

At the heart of the project was the transformation of a marketing show home into the Show Home for Real Living—a constantly evolving community hub that responded to residents’ ideas and needs. Month by month, it became a heritage museum, a pop-up café, garden centre, baking workshop, and even a public house, creating a playful and inclusive space where everyday life and cultural production overlapped.

The artists built a diverse team of residents and collaborators including performers, writers, gardeners, researchers, and specialists in food, science, economics and more. Through a series of skill shares, events, publications, films and workshops, Habitorials empowered the community not just to have a voice, but to actively shape their neighbourhood’s future.

The project directly informed the design and programming of Great Kneighton’s permanent community infrastructure. Its influence can be seen in the new community centre at the heart of the development, which includes a health centre, library, café, meeting spaces, and plans for community gardens—realising many of the ideas first seeded through Habitorials.

The project directly informed the design and programming of Great Kneighton’s permanent community infrastructure. Its influence can be seen in the new community centre at the heart of the development, which includes a health centre, library, café, meeting spaces, and the Clay Farm Community Garden as a resident co-created amenity, realising many of the ideas first seeded through Habitorials.