Shortlisted teams for ‘Co-designing Equity in the Public Realm’ design competition revealed

The London Festival of Architecture (LFA), City of London Corporation and its cultural district Culture Mile, and Foundation for Future London have revealed the six shortlisted teams for Co-designing Equity in the Public Realmdesign competition.

The competition will deliver one or more temporary public realm interventions in Smithfield and East London that collectively develop a deeper understanding of the public’s experience of streets and public spaces. The public realm interventions will explore inclusive design, equity, and public space as well as the involvement of young people in city making. Artists, architects, designers, social enterprises, and creative organisations were invited to submit an expression of interest to the competition. Six shortlisted teams have now been invited to develop a fully costed, feasible design that includes public engagement with relevant local groups during the design development and delivery phase of the project. 

The shortlisted teams are:

Beyond the Box and Scale Rule

Beyond The Box is a creative practice that helps young people and communities find their voice. And use that voice with vigour. We help architects design better spaces, developers form places communities enjoy, and brands build services that have a purpose, which people actually want. We collaborate with others who believe in getting much better outcomes from working with people – outcomes that are meaningful, and that have a lasting difference. We do all of this through co-design.

Build Up Space Black

Build Up is a charity that runs practical construction projects across London for young people aged 10 – 23 to design and build public and community spaces. Our work helps young people make decisions about their local area and become skilled, capable, and confident citizens.

Space Black is a London based built environment collective of young engineers, designers, and artists. Through organic and intentional engagement, they look to support the delivery of projects that uplift commutes that are underrepresented in the design process.

Lemonot and Rain Wu

Lemonot is a multidisciplinary duo (Sabrina Morreale and Lorenzo Perri) based in London, operating at the intersection of performative arts, architecture, and relational practices.
Their projects re-invent the relationship between the urban fabric and human rituals through a wide range of media: pavilions, exhibitions, short films, and performances.

Rain Wu is an artist, architect and educator based in London. Her work is conceptually driven and materialises in different forms and scales from drawing, sculpture, food performance, essay film to architectural installation.

Nebbia Works & Urban Lexicons

Design research community Urban Lexicons, and multidisciplinary studio Nebbia Works, combine collaborative insight with imaginative design — putting new creative tools in the hands of young people to dream up and design city spaces for their future.

Urban Lexicons is a collaboration between Marcus Willcocks, urban designer and Central Saint Martins Research Fellow, and Rosanna Vitiello, co-founder of The Place Bureau and Central Saint Martins Research Associate. For 15 years they have explored how we build more equitable relationships in the ways a city speaks to us and how we speak back. For this project, they bring into the fold collaborators photographer and researcher Noel Moka and creative technologist Katrin Ho.

Nebbia Works is a London based architecture, design and art studio founded by Architects Brando Posocco and Madhav Kidao. The studio is driven by curiosity of the idiosyncrasies and undefined boundaries of our world. They work with lived experiences and stories of the future to create exquisite, crafted designs. Nebbia Works designs through meticulous experimentation; collectively exploring narratives, technology, and materials to fabricate new public and cultural environments.

Re-Fabricate and Dis/Ordinary

The Re-Fabricate and Dis/Ordinary team will explore the intersection between equity, accessibility, and sustainable design. Between us, we have extensive experience in engaging the public, youth, and disabled art groups across London. Re-Fabricate is a collective of architects and architectural professionals focusing on eradicating waste by promoting a circular economy and sustainable design in the built environment.

The Dis/Ordinary Architecture Project is a platform that works across various projects to show how starting from disability – from the rich differences that biodiversity and neuro-divergence bring – is a powerful creative force for design. The team will bring together disabled and non-disabled architects and creatives at different stages of their careers to creatively engage with diverse co-creation and co- partnering methods for making inclusive and adaptable sustainable urban spaces.

S.o.U.P

Attracted by the possibility to explore new models of community-led design, S.o.U.P, The People Speak and Price & Myers are collaborating, with the ambition to meaningfully influence the use of public space.

S.o.U.P (Studio of Urban Practice) is a collaboration between Yang Yang Chen, Andrew Kwok and Roy Coupland founded on a common interest in community-led public architecture. We believe that the creative process is a collective endeavour that is as important as the outcome itself.

The People Speak is a group of international artists based in East London with 25 years’ expertise in creating fun, interactive participatory formats and interventions where we articulate collective imagination, inform public decision-making and deepen connections between diverse groups of people.

Katherine, of Price & Myers, is an engineer with a keen interest in the possibilities technology presents for the built environment to improve efficiency in the construction industry and reduce environmental impact.

The competition’s Judging Panel includes:

• Sandy Abdelrahman (Head of Co-Design, Social Ark CIC)
• Maria Adebowale-Schwarte (CEO, Foundation for Future London)
• Daryl Chen (Urban Design Lead, Hawkins\Brown)
• Tim Jones (Culture Mile Manager, City of London Corporation)
• Siraaj Mitha (Head of Accelerate, Open City) [Round 2 only]
• Clarisse Tavin (Environment Department, City of London Corporation)
• Manijeh Verghese (Founding Director, Unscene Architecture and Head of Public Programmes, Architectural Association)
• Rosa Rogina (Director, London Festival of Architecture) – Chair

A winning team will be confirmed in October 2022 and awarded £50,000 (including VAT) to deliver one or more temporary small-scale interventions alongside public engagement activities ahead of June 2023 when the next edition of the London Festival of Architecture will take place.