Harry Thorpe & CAUKIN: Co‑Production & Architecture for Social Change

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What if a classroom could seed a local business, reshape gender norms on site, and stand strong through a category‑five cyclone? We sit down with CAUKIN co‑founder Harry Thorpe to unpack architecture’s role in driving education, gender equity, and climate resilience, tracing a bold path from student initiative to 60+ transformative projects across Asia, the South Pacific, Africa, and Europe..
We explore how co‑production—not just co‑design—anchors every stage, from forming the brief to sharing tools on site. Harry unpacks a Zambia case study with Mothers of Africa, where transparent decision‑making, mixed‑skill local crews, and young people‑led workshops turned four classrooms into a community engine. In Fiji, we look at practical resilience: buildings that survive extreme weather, then inspire families to replicate cyclone‑safe details using local materials. Along the way, we discuss working with NGOs, partnering with local architects and craftspeople, and tailoring drawings to different ways of learning so everyone can lead, not just follow.
When travel halted, CAUKIN pivoted. We talk about moving the model into UK schools and launching global virtual workshops that bring together architects, makers, and social practitioners. The practice has matured, too—developing “architecture plus,” where spaces come bundled with livelihood pathways, micro‑enterprise, and skills training that keep value in the community. We also confront the hard questions: where our agency starts and ends, when to design ourselves out, and how to sustain impact with fair fees in charity‑led work.
If you care about community architecture, humanitarian design, co‑production, education through building, and resilient, low‑carbon construction with local materials, this story offers practical tools and honest lessons. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show—and tell us: what does true co‑production look like in your world?

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Hosted by founder Antonio Capelao, and co-produced with the Built Environment Trust, the Thornton Education Trust, and the Welsh School of Architecture Cardiff University .
These short and to-the-point podcasts hope to improve the interplay between the fields of the built environment and education as we share knowledge between the practitioner, the creative, and the primary school teacher. Exploring how to prepare children and young people for economic, environmental, and societal challenges, and for their professional lives according to today’s needs and those of a sustainable future.

Fejezetek

1. Harry Thorpe & CAUKIN: Co‑Production & Architecture for Social Change (00:00:00)

2. Host And Mission Introduced (00:00:09)

3. Meet Harry And His Role (00:00:53)

4. School Subjects And Early Influences (00:01:46)

5. Choosing Architecture Over Medicine (00:03:29)

6. Founding Kokan As Students (00:05:40)

7. Early Projects And Step Up In Scale (00:08:16)

8. Finding Work And Working Locally (00:10:00)

9. A Zambia School Project End To End (00:12:51)

10. Co‑Production As Core Practice (00:16:44)

11. Beyond Buildings: Lasting Community Impact (00:19:43)

12. Cyclone Resilience And Replication (00:22:18)

13. Pandemic Pivot To Education And Virtual (00:24:24)

14. Maturing The Practice And Architecture Plus (00:27:10)

15. Ethics, Agency, And Funding Realities (00:29:20)

16. The Meaning Behind The Name (00:31:58)

17. Closing And Listener Actions (00:33:32)