Our masterplanning and regeneration projects such as Croydon, Manchester, Chongqing, Bradford and Barnsley required a re-imagining of what the city can be, working with and enhancing local topography and the grain of historic development.
The idea of landscape as something other than a surface to connect two front doors is radical. Our work sets out to question the nature of this space - what every town & city has in abundance - and programme it, rather than design it. The distinction between these two activities is vital. One is about beautification, which often degenerates into style or heritage, the other is about reclaiming the space for genuine public use.
If the street could be the city art gallery, then why not a school? No shops but markets? No theatre but a continuous performance? The public realm has the ability to liberate many of our treasured institutions in such a way that they could be redefined. This is the work of the artist and architect, alongside the rest of the community.
The work illustrated here has an intent that transcends landscape design, these projects bring a joy to the public realm. The nature of the elements within the landscape originate in ideas workshops with users and client groups. This means that the innovative elements within the proposals originate in the pure aspirations of those that use the places.
Our masterplanning and regeneration projects such as Croydon, Manchester, Chongqing, Bradford and Barnsley required a re-imagining of what the city can be, working with and enhancing local topography and the grain of historic development.
The idea of landscape as something other than a surface to connect two front doors is radical. Our work sets out to question the nature of this space - what every town & city has in abundance - and programme it, rather than design it. The distinction between these two activities is vital. One is about beautification, which often degenerates into style or heritage, the other is about reclaiming the space for genuine public use.
If the street could be the city art gallery, then why not a school? No shops but markets? No theatre but a continuous performance? The public realm has the ability to liberate many of our treasured institutions in such a way that they could be redefined. This is the work of the artist and architect, alongside the rest of the community.
The work illustrated here has an intent that transcends landscape design, these projects bring a joy to the public realm. The nature of the elements within the landscape originate in ideas workshops with users and client groups. This means that the innovative elements within the proposals originate in the pure aspirations of those that use the places.
