Placemaking

The

ofLondon

Future

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

Hosts

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.

Introduction

(above) The Sharing

Session at the end

of the event

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

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

• An urbanism discussion event like this is not something you would have seen 20 years ago – we’re seeing a positive shift

• This is a key ‘moment’, things are 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.

• 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)

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.

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

• 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 London-

based charity that helps communities build a

better future through creative regeneration,

co-creating solutions through participatory

design and igniting community resilience

from within.

• Clear Village engages people in regeneration

• Challenges for community-led projects include keeping momentum, engaging with communities, funding & long-term sustainability

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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. 

• Assemble do entrepreneurial self-started projects

• 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

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.

• 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

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.

• 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

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(overleaf) A workshop group

collaboratively discuss their

priorities for placemaking

in London

Respect what is there already;

development should be a synthesis

of new ideas and sustaining the

character of a place

Engage young people – build

skills and confidence, involve

them in shaping local change

Create more incentives

for developers to

engage community

in a meaningful way

Building trust is vital and

takes time – understand

this at the beginning and

plan in to the process Ensure flexibility in the

design so the community

can define the place

Bring different community

groups together – understand

their different needs and

mediate interests

Engage and

empower the

local community

in change

Build in participation from

the outset – both practical

and creative

Test through the temporary

– get the ball rolling with

‘meanwhile’ use of space

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

Don’t impose ideas –

inspire and facilitate them

Overcome barriers to access

and involvement

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.

—

Shared Agenda for the Future of Placemaking in London

—

Need to understand the

context when making

or developing a place

Ensure developers

are part of this

dialogue of change

Resolve trust issues between

communities and developers –

we need to work together

Partnership working –

between the community,

public and private sectors

– is vital

Meanwhile/pop-up is a tool

rather than a solution in

itself: use and upscale small

or temporary notions to

influence bigger solutions

Do not let go of this creative

use of space once the

economy recovers or

the development is built

A sustainable project

will be one that is

community-led

Always think of the

long-term outcomes for

a community, including

the emotional as well

as the social and

economic impacts

Sustainability of

projects is key

Plan in flexibility and

adaptability: resilience

for the future

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

There were some great conversations

& contributions made on Twitter

before, throughout and after the

event. Here are some key tweets.

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

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!!

Social Media

—

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.

Conclusion

—

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