Directors Sheila and James attended the first event in the NLA's Placemaking Programme this week which asked, 'What is the Future of Public Space in London?' The topic is significant for the pracitice with many of our residential schemes including the design of new public spaces and pedestrian links - Ransomes Wharf in Battersea (pictured) being a perfect example.
Keynote speaker, Professor Jerold S. Kayden of Harvard opened the seminar, followed by UCL Professor for Planning and Urban Design, Matthew Carmona and representitives from Croydon, Brent and Barking Council as well as the GLA.
Both Professors agreed that public space, whether publicly or privtely owned, should be all about safe-guarding freedoms and not restricting behaviour. Croydon Council spoke about their strategy for creating small-scale, meanwhile public spaces to test ideas before decisions are made on more ambitious, permanent spaces (pictured below). Elsewhere it was intersting to hear the GLA announce that a Public London Charter is on its way, which will set out a series of principles on the usage of public spaces.
MSMR Architects are the Placemaking Programme supporter for the NLA. You can get involved on social media by searching #NLAPlacemaking
