Led by academic and creative practitioner Daniel Tollady, The Office for Field Forensics (O.F.F.) is a fictional investigative agency dedicated to the study of the urban, social and environmental conditions that define a particular place. An agency dedicated to gathering and sharing community narratives and site-specific data, working collaboratively with local representatives to understand and share the present- day experience of the place that they live.
Working with students from East Kent College, St Peter’s C of E Primary School and the University for the Creative Arts, O.F.F. has formed a new investigative team to identify and study some of the things that make Folkestone, Folkestone - the buildings, the streets, the parks, the people, the fisherman, the art, the gulls... Together, they built a body of creative research that was archived and presented in the form of models, drawings and a publication, representing just a glimpse into the make-up of a town in development.
Collaborating with the team was local organisation Urban Room Folkestone. Since 2017, the Urban Room has become a space for people to explore and debate the past, present and future of the town where they live, work and play, fostering meaningful connections between people and place using creative methods of engagement.
Through a number of planned activities, O.F.F. has aimed to introduce a set of design methodologies and techniques that empower participants to feel more engaged with the town that they live, to encourage them to develop informed ideas and opinions and share them with others.