The Future of London Placemaking - AoU Young Urbanists

The Future of London Placemaking

Hosts

The Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture & Design is internationally recognised for its high quality teaching, excellent facilities and unique interdisciplinary opportunities. Learning through practice, students at The Cass gain real world experience in both individual and collaborative projects, engaging with professionals, communities and companies.

There is a strong emphasis in the studios on socially engaged architecture, art and design applied to both local and global contexts, and many projects focus on London.

The Cass at Aldgate is emerging as a focus for city shapers, urban activists and explorers. In February 2014, to help snowball this, the bold Cass Cities initiative was announced. www.thecass.com @TheCassArt

The Academy of Urbanism is a self-funded, politically independent organisation formed in 2006 to recognise, learn from, and promote excellence in placemaking. It works pro-actively with places to nurture and help them become more resilient. The Young Urbanists are an exciting new group within the AoU for students and early career professionals to be part of the Academy’s expanding network, present their ideas at events, collaborate on projects and share learning with Academicians. www.academyofurbanism.org.uk @AoUYU

Introduction

London, one of the most important cities in the world, is experiencing a key moment: as we globally come to terms with an increasingly urban population and unprecedented strains on environment, resources, society and economy, how will the UK capital face up to the future? Confronted by daunting figures in terms of the housing and infrastructure needed to support the city’s rapid growth, we must match this focus with our on-the-ground experience of what it means to live in a city, together.

For these and many more reasons, The Academy of Urbanism’s new Young Urbanist Network brought together 150 people to reflect on the culture of ‘placemaking’ in London and, through a workshop-based seminar, co-create a shared agenda for its future using innovative and collaborative thinking.

The event was kindly hosted at The Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design. Held on Saturday 23rd November 2013, it promptly filled to capacity with more wanting to join in. This positive energy of participation was felt throughout the day.

Following introductions from Robert Mull (Dean of The Cass), Mark Brearley (Former Head of Design for London; Professor at The Cass) and Francesca Perry (Young Urbanist; Editor of Thinking City), five young practitioners of architecture, placemaking and engagement presented their work and their response to London’s situation.

A student from The Cass’ Spatial Planning & Urban Design unit also presented the work from the school.

These speakers were invited in order to represent the innovative and forward-looking practice emerging in response to contemporary challenges.

After an ‘Open Forum’ Q&A, participants split into 6 workshop groups to intensively discuss issues and collaboratively form their priorities for placemaking in London. These were then presented at a ‘Sharing Session’ where a shared agenda for change was brought together. That agenda is featured in this report as a potent statement from the capital’s young urbanists to help inform a more inclusive, sustainable future for the city.

(above) The Sharing Session at the end of the event

The Presentations - Key Points

— Mark Brearley is a guest professor at The Cass, the faculty’s advocate for urbanism, former head of Design for London, former partner and co-founder of East, and the proprietor of London manufacturing stalwart Kaymet. He established Mark Brearley’s Office in 2013, and now, with a talent for making good things happen, he is taking forward Cass Cities.

• Planning & development is being

not something you would have seen 20 years ago – we’re seeing a positive shift

• This is a key ‘moment’, things are

• Studio Weave create public space that is distinctive, driven by a design process that is imaginative and rich in narrative • • Think strategically - it’s not just about looking better but working better, integrating with a wider context - for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists alike and both familiar/unfamiliar visitors • Dialogue is important, and fits into a necessary process of negotiation (dealing with a complex web of people including stakeholders and land owners)

www.wemadethat.co.uk @we_made_that

snowballing and momentum is building

Esme Fieldhouse is an architect at Studio Weave, a Hackney-based architecture practice which balances a joyful, open-minded approach with technical precision. Their work has been recognised by a number of awards including a Civic Trust Award for Community Impact & Engagement for The Longest Bench and they were shortlisted for Young Architect of the Year 2013.

www.studioweave.com @studioweave

• London doesn’t need ‘just more stuff’ — we should think about what is the smallest intervention we can make that will encourage positive change

• An urbanism discussion event like this is

• We Made That’s Open Office involved setting up a temporary office for neighborhood planning with emerging tools for people to shape their own communities – people should be allowed to take control of their own neighbourhood assets • It is a process to lead things into future, it’s what you start rather than finish

Robin Houterman is a Project Manager and Head of Research at Clear Village, a Londonbased charity that helps communities build a better future through creative regeneration, co-creating solutions through participatory design and igniting community resilience from within.

www.clear-village.org @clearvillageorg

www.thecass.com @CassCities

handled so crudely in so many parts of London: why?

Oliver Goodhall is a co-founding partner of We Made That, an architecture and design studio delivering work in the public realm.

Recent projects include The Open Office (a live experimental practice for urbanism), The Unlimited Edition newspaper, and programmes of transformations to high streets in Croydon, Blackhorse Lane and Enfield. Oliver is interested in developing projects that expand engagement between the public and the built environment, planning and policy-making.

• Clear Village engages people in regeneration • Challenges for community-led projects include keeping momentum, engaging with communities, funding & long-term sustainability

www.assemblestudio.co.uk

• There is as much design in the finance and logistics of projects as there is in the “actual” design • Assemble’s current project is about making new housing opportunities, showing the local council what is possible and providing aspirations

www.thinkingcity.org /@thinkingcity www.make-good.com / @wemakegood

Francesca Perry is an Academy of Urbanism Young Urbanist committed to building a community of placemakers. She is editor of Thinking City, a platform for discussing the urban experience and how we can work to improve it.

Francesca involves communities in positive local urban change and regeneration for make:good.

www.815agency.com @815Agency

• Assemble do entrepreneurial self-started projects

Nicola Read is a teacher, designer, researcher and curator. She is the director of 815 Agency, exploring issues of architecture, playfulness and the city. Prior to setting up 815 Agency Nicola worked for Hopkins Architects and ARU. • It’s important to bring people together, collecting ideas and future imaginings • What small adjustments can we make in a place to improve liveability, despite the constraints set?

Sophie Wallis is currently taking the MA Spatial Planning & Urban Design at The Cass. In her final year she is investigating industrial growth in different urban typologies, with the ambition to generate Research by Design.

www.thecass.com @CassCities

Lewis Jones is a founding member of Assemble, a young design and architecture collective based in Stratford. Assemble champion a collaborative working practice that blurs the line between client, designer, builder and public. Assemble believe that a nuanced understanding of how things are made and assembled brings an intimate engagement with the problems and possibilities of the real world.

• Understanding of place is key • London has specific challenges – there is an issue of gentrification and the city is polycentric, demanding innovation in parts without happening in others

• We need to shift the culture from exclusive development to inclusive and responsive placemaking, holistically involving communities in creative processes of change - replace competition with collaboration • There is a focus on product rather than process in Mayoral visions for the city • We need an overhaul of positive and pioneering change in our approach to the city, and for the young voices of innovation to enter the main stage

(overleaf) A workshop group collaboratively discuss their priorities for placemaking in London

Shared Agenda for the Future of Placemaking in London

— Respect what is there already; development should be a synthesis of new ideas and sustaining the character of a place

Through collaborative workshops, priorities for placemaking in London were established in groups and then shared with everyone. Here are the key points that emerged around summary themes.

—

Overcome barriers to access and involvement

Bring different community groups together – understand their different needs and mediate interests

Engage and empower the local community in change

Don’t impose ideas – inspire and facilitate them

Building trust is vital and takes time – understand this at the beginning and plan in to the process

Build in participation from the outset – both practical and creative

Ensure flexibility in the design so the community can define the place

Test through the temporary – get the ball rolling with ‘meanwhile’ use of space

Create more incentives for developers to engage community in a meaningful way Engage young people – build skills and confidence, involve them in shaping local change

Throughout the meanwhile process, continuously measure its impact and the reception of new ideas – evaluate this to develop what is needed and receive funding for what works

It is vital to retain the existing communities and value the local knowledge: in this way the process can be thought of as place-keeping

Plan in flexibility and adaptability: resilience for the future

Always think of the long-term outcomes for a community, including the emotional as well as the social and economic impacts

A sustainable project will be one that is community-led

Need to understand the context when making or developing a place

Sustainability of projects is key

Do not let go of this creative use of space once the economy recovers or the development is built

Partnership working – between the community, public and private sectors – is vital

Ensure developers are part of this dialogue of change

Meanwhile/pop-up is a tool rather than a solution in itself: use and upscale small or temporary notions to influence bigger solutions

Resolve trust issues between communities and developers – we need to work together

Social Media

— There were some great conversations & contributions made on Twitter before, throughout and after the event. Here are some key tweets.

Future London @Future_London #FOLP2013 shows that's there's an audience & expertise in young urbanists in London for better placemaking in the future - now onto action!

Unit + Collective @UnitPlusDesign Awesome day yesterday @TheCassArt on the future of #placemaking organised by @thinkingcity with @we_made_that...

Things are #snowballing!!

Future London @Future_London Call for collaborative processes (including at today's event) to allow for newer voices to be heard more loudly and more clearly #FOLP2013 make:good @wemakegood Seeing a packed room of people interested in making a shift in practice is awesome! @Future_London_ @TheCassArt @theAoU

Conclusion

— The discussions and exchange of ideas that were generated at this event led us towards a shared ideal of the future of London placemaking as participatory urbanism. Beyond facts, figures, strategies and plans, we all need a better understanding of what kind of city London is and what the future of our urban narrative should hold. It is clear we need to nurture a more inclusive, affordable, healthy city at the same time as supporting inevitable growth.

Product is not the only focus: good processes are vital. We require innovative and effective ways of building in community-led processes at the same time as mediating successful partnerships between stakeholders, the public and private sectors.

Dialogue is the starting point. The Academy of Urbanism, the Young Urbanists and The Cass hope to continue this. Now let’s get to work.

Many thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success and contributed to this report.

Organiser / Editor Francesca Perry Coordinators Bright Pryde Mark Brearley Special Thanks Sarah Birt Roland Chanin-Morris Lizzy Daish Allison Dawson Esme Fieldhouse Oliver Goodhall Catherine Greig Robin Houterman Lewis Hubbard Lewis Jones Robert Mull Nicola Read Kerilyn Tacconi Sophie Wallis Sponsors of Young Urbanists Space Syntax Grosvenor

The Academy of Urbanism 70 Cowcross Street London EC1M 6EJ info@academyofurbanism.org.uk 0207 251 8777