Agile City Member Spotlight – Des Bernie from icecream architecture
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Des from icecream architecture, one of Civic House’s longest-standing fixed desk residents. In this feature, Des shares insights into their latest architectural projects, what inspires their community-centric work, and their experience being an integral part of our coworking community!
Who are you, and what do you do?
We work with communities and public bodies to improve places and society. Design is our facilitation tool that enables communities to highlight their priorities and make decisions. Supporting people to tell their stories is a vital part of this, and we often consider how best to present and share those stories.
Give a brief description of icecream architecture; please list your team members as well!
icecream architecture is a Glasgow-based, award-winning engagement and design agency comprising a team of conscientious professionals, including community-led facilitators, designers, artists, architects, illustrators, software developers and strategic thinkers. With over 16 years of projects throughout Scotland, the UK and Ireland, we have developed a rapport with communities, public bodies and third-sector organisations. We specialise in integrating these groups throughout the delivery process and producing carefully considered, high-quality and accessible interpretative outcomes.
Whether we are creating design strategies, place-based interpretation and trails, engagement and co-creation programmes, digital tools or public art, we consistently apply the principle of ‘design by community’. This expresses our belief that by placing local people at the heart of the design process, projects can achieve higher-quality outcomes, more resilient results, and positive spillover effects through skills sharing and the fostering of social networks. From our experience, we know the power of a place lies in its people, and we aim to amplify that power through our projects, building a shared sense of ownership, a stronger community spirit, and a deeper connection to heritage and place.
Our core team is made up of myself, Sally Shepherd, Chloe O’Dempsey, Sally Delahooke and Martin Yanchev, and we work with a network of contractors in Ireland too.
How long have you been a tenant at Civic House & what attracted you to the building?
We’ve been settled here for 18 months now and feel at home. There’s a warmth you feel from the building and the people who come through the doors every day.
Do you have any words of advice for those hoping to pursue a career in your field?
Stay focused on what benefit you are trying to achieve for the target audience, and when you feel you’re doing something right, keep going.
How did you discover this is what you wanted to pursue as a career/passion?
Due to the nature of our projects, the impact is often a slow burn, so over the years of seeing how communities we’ve worked with have developed, it’s reinforced the value (and passion) for what we do.
Do you have any upcoming projects you want to highlight? How can we get involved?
We’re in the thick of designing interpretation trails in Fife, Moray and South Lanarkshire, so get your walking boots ready. We’re also running community capacity building projects in Kildare and Stirling, and a major cross-border community relationship-building project in Ireland.
Where can we find out more about your business/company and your work?
www.icecreamarchitecture.com or come chat to us at Civic House
We want to thank Des for participating in this months member spotlight!
To find out more about memberships, and how to join Civic House, visit our coworking page.