How do you develop a new town hall and civic hub in a community with a longstanding mistrust of its local authority? “You’ve got to listen,” says James Stockdale, Development Director at Muse. Your New Town Hall in Brixton, the project to restore the Grade II-listed Lambeth town hall was never going to be easy. According to a 2013 resident’s survey, the council was not held in high regard. The report said residents felt “policymakers have stopped listening to them, and their culture and identity...
Apr 12, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 6
As regulations on biodiversity net gain and sustainable drainage become mandatory, Carolin Göhler, president-elect of the Landscape Institute, explains why the role of the landscape architect is as vital as it is misunderstood. In areas prone to overheating, flooding or drought, having a lead designer focused on land use makes sense. The increase in social impact measurement, social prescribing and ESG investment also highlights the role of green spaces in improving health and wellbeing. But if ...
Mar 14, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Local authorities are moving head with net zero and climate resilience plans, installing solar panels and heat pumps. But a recent report from Key Cities, a group of 27 UK cities, concludes that "progress is being hindered by central government through a lack of powers, clarity, capacity and funding". Gina Dowding Lancaster County Counsellor and Richard Cook, Leader of Gloucester City Council, discuss the recommendations from the report, Levelling Up, Emissions Down, which captures the palpable ...
Jan 22, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 4
We need to talk about SLOAPs, aka Sites Leftover After Planning. We've all seen them, corridors of tarmac or patches of grass with no purpose or social life. Could we put these fragmented spaces to better use as sites of biodiversity, food growing, play or connection? Soham De from EcoResponsive Environments and Valerie Beirne from Where Pathways Meet have been adding up the potential of this multitude of tiny sites, and want to spark an industry-wide conversation about the mapping and transform...
Jan 09, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Art in public space has long been subject to hot debate. It was back in the 1970s that James Wines referred to Modernist sculptures as "turds in the plaza" and "Plop Art". The removal of sculptures associated with slavery as part of the Black Lives Matter are proof positive that public art matters deeply to people and places. So when seeking to commission public art, is community involvement the answer to question of relevance, appropriateness and permanence? Shiro Muchiri, founder of SoShiro ar...
Dec 15, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Street art has a lot to do with play, says Dr Lee Bofkin, co-founder of Global Street Art, who points to the evolving role of streets as a backdrop for content creation and personal digital expression. Global Street Art has connected street artists with sites to paint 3,000 murals in the UK since 2012, including pieces created under the Art for Estates programme and launching the London Mural Festival. In this podcast, the co-founder of Global Street Art discusses the expansive role of public ar...
Dec 04, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this special 100th episode of The Developer Podcast, author Carolyn Steel hosts Stephen Witherford, co-founder of Witherford Watson Mann architects and Sophia Craxton, food anthropologist and manager of the community kitchen at almshouse Appleby Blue. What emerges is passionate and emotive discussion about how we design spaces for dignity, and the building as the beginning of a conversation about how we live and what we value. In a city where loneliness is one of the biggest killers, the ques...
Nov 15, 2023•58 min•Ep. 100
The construction industry is struggling to attract young people with an acute shortage of skilled workers hampering innovation and quality. Architecture and engineering need more diversity. At the same time, developers are creating playgrounds and spaces for teenagers to attract families and create community. What if we could solve all these needs with a single intervention? The adventure playground is not a new concept – the first one opened in Camberwell in 1948. But their longstanding traditi...
Oct 22, 2023•50 min•Ep. 99
The regeneration playbook is to takeover industrial spaces in favour of housing and mixed-use development, displacing the garages, workshops and sheds and pushing them to the margins of the city. But an increase in industrial rents and a shortage of industrial spaces has led to a radical rethink, with councils seeking industrial intensification instead, funding the creation of multi-storey light industrial spaces. In this interview, Regeneration Officer Francis Moss from London Borough of Ealing...
Oct 09, 2023•52 min•Ep. 98
The popularity of New York's Highline saw other cities scouring maps for disused infrastructure – and Camden was no exception. The discovery of a disused viaduct running between King's Cross and Camden Road sparked the campaign for a Highline. Fast-forward and the design has planning permission and is now fundraising towards the build. We speak to Simon Pitkeathley, CEO of Camden Town Unlimited and CEO of Camden Highline about the journey so far, Georgie Street, Head of Projects at Camden Town U...
Oct 02, 2023•44 min•Ep. 97
Back in 2018, one of The Developer’s first podcasts was an interview with Linda Thiel, director of White Arkitekter’s London studio. The Scandinavian practice had been hired for the second phase of the regeneration of the Gascoigne estate in east London, replacing 1960s high rise blocks while adopting what the practice calls a “Scandinavian approach” with an emphasis on public space. More than four years on, Thiel got in touch to say that there had been a change in the practice’s thinking and, f...
Jun 21, 2023•45 min•Ep. 96
The Key Cities report, Culture and Place in Britain, identified access to culture as a driver of wellbeing in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. But how can we seek stable and sustainable funding for grassroots culture in our places? Alan Waters, Culture Lead for Key Cities and previous leader of Norwich City Council and Sarie Mairs Slee, who previously led the Salford Culture and Place Partnership, discuss how the Cultural Compact, which partners institutions with artists and grassroots initia...
Jun 05, 2023•56 min•Ep. 95
Horatio’s Garden Chelsea, designed by Harris and Bugg with McMullan Studio, has been awarded the coveted Best in Show title at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In this podcast, we sit down with Charlotte Harris and Andrew McMullan to discuss the process of designing a fully accessible garden for this UK-based charity that nurtures patients after spinal injury in NHS spinal centres. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 24, 2023•44 min•Ep. 94
Paul Monaghan, architect and co-founder of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, talks about his role on the advisory board for The Office for Place, a government body helping to shape design codes and neighbourhood plans in England. Announced in July 2021, having emerged out of the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, the purpose of the Office for Place is “to make it easier for all neighbourhood communities, wherever they might be, to require what they find beautiful and refuse what they fin...
Mar 24, 2023•47 min•Ep. 93
What are we doing wrong when it comes to urban tree planting? With an estimated 30 to 70% of city trees expected to die within a year of planting, landscape architect Elaine Cresswell, founder of ReShaped, dishes the dirt on the reasons city trees die, from funding to specification, soil to maintenance. With targets for net zero, flood resilience, air pollution and Biodiversity Net Gain, we need our landscapes to work harder than ever. Other topics covered include why architects shouldn't put ch...
Feb 13, 2023•49 min•Ep. 92
There are times when placemaking is about urban acupuncture; a series of strategic interventions that signpost and make accessible what is already there – microplans in lieu of masterplans. In this podcast, landscape architect Valerie Beirne, founder of Where Pathways Meet, discusses her 14 years at Better Bankside and the potential impact of incremental projects where a singular vision is delivered by local partnerships big and small. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 31, 2023•40 min•Ep. 91
Psychologist B. F. Skinner famously compared old age to a foreign country: “You will enjoy it more if you have prepared yourself before you go.” But are UK towns and cities ready to welcome those on the journey? Figures from the 2021 census revealed that there are 2.5m people aged 50 or older living in London, while the OECD estimates that older adults comprise 15% of the population of metropolitan areas of the UK.Could a new almshouse in Blackfriars be a future model for independent, affordable...
Jan 20, 2023•46 min
When it comes to the creative industries, people are looking for workspaces that you want to come to and do things together, says Richard Pearce, founder and director of office developer TCN. “It’s going to be hybrid working from now on. People need to have a reason to get out of their comfortable homes.” For TCN – which describes itself as a “creative workplace” provider – the offer is an interesting office space and a community of creative SME businesses. But how do you bring different busines...
Dec 13, 2022•32 min
What is a community land trust and why start one? We speak to Tom Chance, chief executive of the Community Land Trust Network about this legal entity which gives communities ownership and power over land and property development. We dig into how CLTs get started, what types of homes and places CLTs are delivering from high street regeneration to affordable housing, and the three biggest challenges faced by most community land trusts: acquiring land, finance and expertise. Hosted on Acast. See ac...
Nov 23, 2022•39 min
"It's about showing up, not just as a professional, but as a person; to bring your whole self." Founders Rachel Fisher and Liane Hartley talk about Urbanistas, a network for amplifying women's ideas to improve cities as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. From its early beginnings in London to its global expansion with several chapters around the world, from Manchester to New York, Sydney and Rotterdam, Fisher and Hartley share their unique perspective on what makes their expo model so replicabl...
Jun 22, 2022•36 min
Listening to residents is informing change at Mount Anvil, including the pressing need to address the cost-of-living crisis by reducing energy use. But their approach to community engagement is also changing as a result: Marcus Bate, Partnerships and Communities Director, talks about how the Covid lockdowns made them realise the value of face-to-face conversations: “Forcing us to rely on digital has shown us some of the flaws in our digital strategy.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...
Jun 06, 2022•43 min
A fresh canon of queer architectural precedents drawn from a rich and undocumented cultural history, artist Adam Nathaniel Furman and architectural historian Joshua Mardell discuss their book Queer Spaces: An Atlas of LGBTQIA+ Places and Spaces and why it's so important that the Royal Institute of British Architects has published this book, giving up-and-coming queer designers a celebratory history and institutional legitimacy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 13, 2022•47 min
How do you transform an out-of-town business park into a place where people want to work? Ilaria de Beato, CEO, Frasers Property UK talks about shaking up the business park with sports and leisure facilities, better transport connections and a fresh commitment to sustainability, health and wellbeing for employees and tenants Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 27, 2022•42 min
Local Space is a unique social housing provider that buys and refurbishes properties for homeless families in four London boroughs. Some have been evicted, others are living in their car or sofa-surfing in overcrowded housing. Their average length of tenancy is six years. Josie Parsons, CEO of Local Space, speaks about the cost of living crisis, their pilot project to refurbish homes to an EPC A and busts some myths about people on benefits and made homeless Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...
Apr 05, 2022•39 min
Socius describes itself as an “impactful developer” that balances profit alongside purpose to deliver sustainable mixed-use places. We catch up with directors Barry Jessup and Olaide Oboh to learn about their new development in Milton Keynes, their commitment to sustainable development, the B Corp journey and why design and architecture matters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 29, 2022•51 min
How do we break out of our silos and adopt more holistic ways of working? How do we renew our cities and places while respecting the environment and planetary boundaries? How can we take an equitable approach to planning and urban renewal in our cities in the context of a climate emergency? What does participatory planning look like, and why does it matter? Featuring Leonora Grcheva, Cities and Regions Lead, Doughnut Economics Action Lab, Pooja Agrawal, CEO, Public Practice and Karen Jelenje, Fo...
Feb 23, 2022•48 min
If we don't do something about our high streets, town centres and people working from home, we will lose a way of life and the social fabric of our places, says Roger Wade, CEO, Boxpark in this interview. Wade makes a passionate plea for government to level the playing field between online retail and shopfronts in terms of business rates, arguing that physical retail can compete on content. "The centres of our communities don't need to die... but we need to create the right circumstances for hos...
Feb 09, 2022•48 min
Approximately 1 in every 14 people over the age of 65 will suffer dementia in the UK, but as citizens they are often excluded from consultation on the design of our places and cities. Dr Samantha Biglieri’s research seeks to change that. Her work, which lies at the intersection of public health and urban planning, asks what we can learn from engaging with people suffering from dementia. What are we missing when people with dementia are locked out of community engagement? What can the experience ...
Jan 10, 2022•56 min
Turning historic buildings to new use, Tim Heatley, co-founder of developer Capital&Central, and Mark Braund, architect director at BDP talk about Stockport’s Weir Mill and how they're creating a community out of an historic mill complex and bringing mixed-use urban apartment-living to the suburbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 21, 2021•45 min
What is the cost of displacement through gentrification? What are the alternatives in the context of the private rental boom? How do we genuinely level up while renewing urban places, and ensure existing communities feel the benefit? Recorded live at the Festival of Place, we hear from Prof. Loretta Lees, an urban geographer and scholar-activist who wrote the book on gentrification and Alisha Morenike Fisher, Founding-Director of Migrant’s Bureau, a social design and urbanism practice for Black,...
Dec 16, 2021•48 min
