Public Realm Portfolio
As architects, landscape architects and urban designers, we create award winning buildings, living landscapes and thriving urban spaces, using inventive design to solve real life challenges. Each of our projects is different but the driving force behind every one is the desire to create something that is inherently beautiful, sustainable and useful.
We are committed to creating public realm proposals that bring about real, positive change – improving the placemaking narrative and developing the ‘genius loci’ which reflects the essence and particular qualities of an area. This provides opportunities for improving the natural environment, such as biodiversity enhancement, and effective movement systems for local people. Both aspects are key to sustainable regeneration and inform our work as designers on a day-to-day basis. We strongly believe that all projects are multi-faceted and require the highest level of ‘placemaking’, involving our urban designers, architects and landscape architects. This enables us to look at all projects holistically, providing the expertise to deal with both the macro scale masterplanning and micro scale detailing.
Every one of our projects starts with the people we’re designing for and we work side-by-side with end-users and clients from the very outset; engaging in consultation throughout the development process.
Brunswick Centre Camden, London Allied London This pioneering medium-rise, high-density, inner-city neighbourhood, designed by Patrick Hodgkinson in the 1960s, was severely run-down when we were invited to restore, repair and improve it. Our approach was to complete the original architectural vision whilst making contemporary interventions which included a radically new approach to public realm treatments. The central open space has been transformed into a ‘shopping street’ with seating, new paving finishes and anchor tree planting, creating a space, which encourages shopper to linger. The space, which has become more intimate and sociable, now feels bright and open space due to active frontages and animated shop fronts.
“The revival of the Brunswick Centre has transformed a major blight into a thriving and lively area.� Regeneration & Renewal Awards judge
The key concept for our masterplan, which will provide 1,176 new homes, shops, a faith centre, community centre and PCT, is to create a series of new routes in and around the site – making it much more permeable and welcoming for both residents and visitors. A new linear park sits at the heart of the neighbourhood, featuring diverse planting and informal play spaces. New homes are arranged around this green space with active street frontages creating a vibrant community at street level.
“Aberfeldy Village is quickly transforming into a vibrant new neighbourhood around a significant new London park at its heart. Housing of all types and tenures has been carefully designed to support development of this mixed, sustainable community – both now and in the long term.” Ben Ffoulkes-Jones, Project Director, EcoWorld
Aberfeldy New Village Tower Hamlets, London Aberfeldy New Village LLP
Heybourne Park Barnet, London Choices for Grahame Park The redesign of this park accommodates a diversity of needs as part of a wider regeneration programme, including better connecting the associated estate with the surrounding area and integrating homes and services. The community focus is evident in a wide range of attractions, including playspace, activity space encouraging experimental play, and formal facilities for organised sports. The completed park also includes a neighbourhood play area, amphitheatre/performance space, health and fitness trail, dog exercise areas and a revitalised pond, providing an ecologically rich area for wildlife.
“A well-designed masterplan.� Greater London Authority (GLA)
Our brief was to tackle neighbourhood-wide public realm and architectural issues resulting from Brutalist design principles of the 1970s. The bounteous green space and watery infrastructure of Thamesmead is substantially overshadowed by problems such as poor legibility, the detachment of pedestrians from street level and an overdominance of parking. Our strategy revitalises two existing neighbourhoods and re-connects them with their natural assets; reinforcing character, creating usable amenity and deterring anti-social behaviour. A phased series of interventions will demonstrate investment in existing homes and local amenities being delivered through wider regeneration proposals.
South Thamesmead Public Realm Bexley, London Peabody
Initial community engagement for the public realm strategy revealed that residents wanted to see fast change, including colour and impact at the doorstep. In response, we devised a series of ‘quick win’ interventions that could demonstrate opportunities for planting, lighting, street furniture and public art. By initiating online consultation tools, we will gather further feedback from residents and promote the interventions they like, as well as engaging them in community activities for bulb planting, demonstrations, welding street furniture and workshops for new murals.
South Thamesmead pilots Bexley, London Peabody
Devonshire Park Eastbourne Eastbourne Borough Council Dating from 1873, Devonshire Park has long been an attraction for the south coast. With theatres and visitor facilities in need of significant revitalisation, we were appointed to devise a masterplan to reconnect the venues with the town centre and reinforce it as a key regional destination for sports, leisure and culture. A new Welcome Building now presents onto a new civic plaza with outdoor cafĂŠ to unify existing theatre and gallery foyers. New bold planting frames the space, supports improved access for all and reinforces the historic parkland setting.
“This is an extremely exciting project that will bring more people to Eastbourne, provide even better facilities for residents and support the sustainability of the park for future generations.� Councillor David Tutt, Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council
Shoreditch Park was formed in an area of terraced housing which suffered bomb damage during World War II. Following extensive consultation with local residents, we have revived its function as a focus of community life through its reinvention as a new park. An exciting mix of facilities for various user groups, combined with environmental considerations, recreation and the arts has produced a lively and contemporary open space. This major transformation involved significant environmental improvements, and the creation of new entrances to encourage pedestrian entry into the park. The children’s area is extended as a dog-free zone and an informal trim trail is created along the boundary to encourage walking and jogging. An amphitheatre has been created and a granite boulder sculpture by the Hackney-based artist John Frankland has been installed.
Shoreditch Park Hackney, London Shoreditch Trust
Ocean Estate Tower Hamlets, London East Thames Housing Group, First Base, Bellway Homes, Wates Living Space and Spitalfields Housing Association The comprehensive regeneration of this estate involved a new community masterplan to support over 1,000 new homes and the refurbishment of 1,200 existing homes. Existing monolith blocks made way for smaller buildings to recreate a more traditional street pattern, designed around central planted courtyards providing play at the doorstep. New routes into the neighbourhood, with pedestrian and cycle priority, further improve permeability with car movement taking a backseat. Shared surface approaches to street design with seating and tree planting have created incidental spaces for residents to inhabit and feel proud of.
“What we’ve built at the Ocean Estate isn’t just bricks and mortar. It’s a brand new, inclusive community that has delivered and will continue to deliver positive change to a wide range of people. It is a brilliant example of how to ensure the community is involved in the changes going on around them.” Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director for Development and Renewal, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Our mini-masterplan for part of this estate involved demolishing existing stock and building better housing while reintroducing a traditional, legible street pattern with homes giving natural surveillance at the doorstep. The mosaic of new homes and open spaces creates well used street frontages, defensible space and pockets of shared landscape for residents. Courtyards supporting amenity for a range of homes unlocked the ability to reduce building heights whilst increasing density, balanced by a qualitative uplift of public realm spaces.
“A proud testament to the merits of inspirational and robust design-led placemaking.� London Planning Awards judge
Aylesbury Estate Southwark, London London Borough of Southwark, London & Quadrant Housing Group
Wilkins Terrace, UCL Camden, London University College London This project encloses an existing service yard as an undercroft to create a new public space at the heart of UCL’s Bloomsbury campus. Conceived as a contemporary, high quality, stone terrace within the historic courtyard, it features a striking ‘fourth façade’, which completes the classical courtyard composition and cleverly conceals services required for adjacent faculty buildings. Portland stone, designed to classical Georgian proportions, it is a contemporary interpretation of the surrounding historic architecture and helps to tie the courtyard elements together. New stepped planters with biodiverse planting, including textural and edible species, offers shade and opportunities for seating during a range of curated uses of the terrace.
“It is a fabulous space developed for our staff, students and visitors and will benefit and inspire our entire academic community for generations to come.� Andrew Grainger, Director, UCL Estates
We were appointed to rework the Council’s original masterplan for this area as a result of public transport improvements. We began by identifying key destinations surrounding the site before looking at ways to connect them. Many of our interventions have re-established the historic street network, which had evolved and disintegrated over time. Our medium rise, high density approach has created a distinctive urban neighbourhood – buildings have tight footprints with central courtyards, interconnected by new and improved streets and public squares. We recently installed a temporary pavilion for residents and passers-by to express how they felt about the area.
“What is most pleasing now on the ground is the obvious ownership of the area now by those who live and work in it. The whole atmosphere has been transformed into a place where people actually want to be.� Tim Thompson, Principal Project Surveyor, London Borough of Southwark
Bermondsey Spa Southwark, London Hyde Housing Association
Winstanley and York Road Estate Wandsworth, London London Borough of Wandsworth We developed a long-term spatial masterplan for these two estates suffering from the typical problems of 20th Century council housing. We initiated a consultation process with the community, outlining four options on a sliding scale and fully explaining the costs and benefits each would bring. The design of the masterplan is a direct result of this process and local people definitively opted for the most radical change. However, for the areas currently working well, we proposed smaller interventions to improve the environment, such as new lighting, pocket green spaces and high quality street furniture.
“The Winstanley and York Road masterplan is what regeneration is about for us. It’s about design, buildings, streets and routes: but equally, it’s also about the non-spatial stuff, about engaging with the community and local politicians. That’s the really exciting bit.” Vinita Dhume, Associate Director
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