YEAR IN REVIEW 2018
Welcome to the Year in Review 2018 – a space to celebrate our major milestones and look forward to another productive and successful year with our fantastic clients and collaborators.
BOND STREET
Publica’s redesign of Bond Street from Oxford Street to Piccadilly was formally launched in October.
OXFORD STREET DISTRICT
Publica has developed the Oxford Street District Place Strategy and Delivery Plan for Westminster City Council.
The Strategy takes a holistic approach to urban change, to radically improve the streets and spaces and create an end-to-end strategy for Oxford Street and the wider district.
RIVER THAMES
Publica is currently working with the Greater London Authority and the Port of London Authority to develop the first ever Cultural Vision for the River Thames, which will bring the Thames back to the centre of London’s cultural life.
SELFRIDGES
Publica has been working with Selfridges & Co and Selfridges Group to produce The Selfridges Neighbourhood Plan, which looks closely at opportunities related to the streets, spaces, uses and buildings around the store to help create and sustain a vital retail, commercial and cultural neighbourhood.
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MAPPING
Publica has supported the Soho Neighbourhood Forum to map the creative industries, as well as working with BOP for the City of London to identify and describe the creative ecology of Culture Mile through spatial mapping.
PLACE, SPACES, WORK
Deputy Mayor, Justine Simons, launched our publication Place, Spaces, Work: The Creative Industries in London, which explores where, why and how creative industries thrive in the city and suggests the way policies need to evolve for London’s creative sector to retain its competitive edge. We were delighted that two of the drawings from the publication were selected for this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
VITAL NEIGHBOURHOODS
In May 2018, James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing, helped Publica launch Vital Neighbourhoods: Lessons from International Housing Renewal, a research publication that provides insight on successful housing renewal projects from around the world. The study examines precedents from 11 countries, along with in-depth fieldwork investigations of five projects in Bordeaux and Zurich. The study was then included in the RIBA Book of Abstracts for the 2018 President’s Awards for Research.
RESEARCH: NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION &
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
Publica was commissioned to undertake two research studies for the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Task Force: a targeted sector review of current attitudes towards design in infrastructure planning and delivery, and the scoping and development of an approach to the first design principles for national infrastructure.
Publica has been appointed to lead Neighbourhood Planners.London’s research on the role and potential for neighbourhood planning in London, focusing on economically disadvantaged areas.
QUEEN'S PARK COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Publica is continuing to support the Queen’s Park Community Council in the finalisation of their Neighbourhood Plan.
MARBLE ARCH
Since 2017, Publica has been working for the Portman Estate and its collaborators to develop ideas for the public realm at Marble Arch, based on a survey, stakeholder engagement, and a public perception study.
WATERLOO
Publica is working closely with the London Borough of Lambeth to produce a Public Realm Framework for Waterloo and the South Bank, including strategic principles for the public realm and spatial briefs for improvements to key sites across the area.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Publica has been working with the University of Oxford on the first stages of realizing their new five-year strategy for the future of their estate.
HEART OF LONDON BUSINESS ALLIANCE
Over the past year Publica has worked with Heart of London to develop a detailed Survey and Area Strategy for this key West End area, incorporating landmark spaces including Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, St James's, Haymarket, and Piccadilly. This work included the above animated 24-hour timelapse to aid discussions around the Circus.
WINCHESTER
Publica was lead consultant in developing a strategy with Winchester City Council for public realm improvements for the Winchester Station Approach area.
LAMBETH GREEN, GARDEN MUSEUM
Publica developed design ideas with Dan Pearson Studio to transform the streetscape of historic Lambeth for the Garden Museum.
WALKS, TALKS & VISITS
Lucy Musgrave spoke at the City Architecture Forum about the importance of culture in the city, and Vicky Wägner participated in a panel discussion led by SOM about the future of public space. We led a night time walk for the Night Time Commission, supported by the Northbank BID, focusing on the ways in which lighting influences our experience of streets and spaces after nightfall. We’ve also invited a range of individuals to our office to get to know our practice and evidence-based methodology. We hosted a group of urbanists from the Strelka Institute in Moscow, held an open studio for the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects (WCCA), and shared some of our work with visiting students from Syracuse University.
TEAM AWAY DAY TO BRUTON
In August the team were invited to Bruton in Somerset to take part in a workshop on ways of drawing the city at the Drawing Matter archive at Shatwell with collector Niall Hobhouse and Dea Vanagan, curator and director at Hauser & Wirth, Somerset. The team was also given a private tour of the Hauser & Wirth’s Alexander Calder exhibition From the Stony River to the Sky.
BRITISH LIBRARY TALK
Lucy Musgrave spoke about our work in civic urbanism as part of the lecture series, ‘Rethinking Public Value & Public Purpose,’ at the British Library for the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.
IDENTITY & COMMUNICATIONS
This year saw the launch of our new service area, Identity & Communications. Our graphic design team produced a time-lapse film of Piccadilly Circus communicating changing patterns of use during a 24 hour period and are currently developing a new visual identity for the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Next year they’ll be working with the Soho Neighbourhood Forum on an editorial design project for the Soho Neighbourhood Plan.
COLOMBIAN STUDY TRIP
In May, Lucy travelled to Bogotá to spend time with Mayor Peñalosa and discuss the work Publica is doing for the GLA and the Port of London Authority on a cultural vision for the River Thames in relation to his plans for the 37km river of Bogota. She also visited planners, architects and investors in Medellin to study the city’s bold strategies for ‘social urbanism.’
INTERNATIONAL WORK
Following our work in New York, Publica has been appointed to a major international project in Toronto.
THE CROWN ESTATE
Publica has worked with The Crown Estate on a number of key sites in London and is excited to work on developing an ambitious placemaking strategy for their Central London Estate.
Thank you to our clients, collaborators and friends with whom we’ve had the pleasure to work and celebrate our milestones over the course of the past year. 2018 marks a tremendous year for Publica: we’ve defined our role as a leader of urban change. We’ve articulated and championed Civic Urbanism, completed the design of the iconic commercial and civic space of Bond Street, launched two new publications, developed a Cultural Vision for the River Thames, and have worked to radically improve the streets and spaces of the Oxford Street District for the City Council. We’ve officially moved into our new office in the City of London this year. We look forward to developing our international programme in 2019 and another successful and productive year.
YEAR IN REVIEW 2018
Welcome to the Year in Review 2018 – a space to celebrate our major milestones and look forward to another productive and successful year with our fantastic clients and collaborators.
BOND STREET
Publica’s redesign of Bond Street from Oxford Street to Piccadilly was formally launched in October.
OXFORD STREET DISTRICT
Publica has developed the Oxford Street District Place Strategy and Delivery Plan for Westminster City Council.
The Strategy takes a holistic approach to urban change, to radically improve the streets and spaces and create an end-to-end strategy for Oxford Street and the wider district.
RIVER THAMES
Publica is currently working with the Greater London Authority and the Port of London Authority to develop the first ever Cultural Vision for the River Thames, which will bring the Thames back to the centre of London’s cultural life.
SELFRIDGES
Publica has been working with Selfridges & Co and Selfridges Group to produce The Selfridges Neighbourhood Plan, which looks closely at opportunities related to the streets, spaces, uses and buildings around the store to help create and sustain a vital retail, commercial and cultural neighbourhood.
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MAPPING
Publica has supported the Soho Neighbourhood Forum to map the creative industries, as well as working with BOP for the City of London to identify and describe the creative ecology of Culture Mile through spatial mapping.
PLACE, SPACES, WORK
Deputy Mayor, Justine Simons, launched our publication Place, Spaces, Work: The Creative Industries in London, which explores where, why and how creative industries thrive in the city and suggests the way policies need to evolve for London’s creative sector to retain its competitive edge. We were delighted that two of the drawings from the publication were selected for this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
VITAL NEIGHBOURHOODS
In May 2018, James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing, helped Publica launch Vital Neighbourhoods: Lessons from International Housing Renewal, a research publication that provides insight on successful housing renewal projects from around the world. The study examines precedents from 11 countries, along with in-depth fieldwork investigations of five projects in Bordeaux and Zurich. The study was then included in the RIBA Book of Abstracts for the 2018 President’s Awards for Research.
RESEARCH: NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION &
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
Publica was commissioned to undertake two research studies for the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Task Force: a targeted sector review of current attitudes towards design in infrastructure planning and delivery, and the scoping and development of an approach to the first design principles for national infrastructure.
Publica has been appointed to lead Neighbourhood Planners.London’s research on the role and potential for neighbourhood planning in London, focusing on economically disadvantaged areas.
QUEEN'S PARK COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Publica is continuing to support the Queen’s Park Community Council in the finalisation of their Neighbourhood Plan.
MARBLE ARCH
Since 2017, Publica has been working for the Portman Estate and its collaborators to develop ideas for the public realm at Marble Arch, based on a survey, stakeholder engagement, and a public perception study.
WATERLOO
Publica is working closely with the London Borough of Lambeth to produce a Public Realm Framework for Waterloo and the South Bank, including strategic principles for the public realm and spatial briefs for improvements to key sites across the area.
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Publica has been working with the University of Oxford on the first stages of realizing their new five-year strategy for the future of their estate.
HEART OF LONDON BUSINESS ALLIANCE
Over the past year Publica has worked with Heart of London to develop a detailed Survey and Area Strategy for this key West End area, incorporating landmark spaces including Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, St James's, Haymarket, and Piccadilly. This work included the above animated 24-hour timelapse to aid discussions around the Circus.
WINCHESTER
Publica was lead consultant in developing a strategy with Winchester City Council for public realm improvements for the Winchester Station Approach area.
LAMBETH GREEN, GARDEN MUSEUM
Publica developed design ideas with Dan Pearson Studio to transform the streetscape of historic Lambeth for the Garden Museum.
WALKS, TALKS & VISITS
Lucy Musgrave spoke at the City Architecture Forum about the importance of culture in the city, and Vicky Wägner participated in a panel discussion led by SOM about the future of public space. We led a night time walk for the Night Time Commission, supported by the Northbank BID, focusing on the ways in which lighting influences our experience of streets and spaces after nightfall. We’ve also invited a range of individuals to our office to get to know our practice and evidence-based methodology. We hosted a group of urbanists from the Strelka Institute in Moscow, held an open studio for the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects (WCCA), and shared some of our work with visiting students from Syracuse University.
TEAM AWAY DAY TO BRUTON
In August the team were invited to Bruton in Somerset to take part in a workshop on ways of drawing the city at the Drawing Matter archive at Shatwell with collector Niall Hobhouse and Dea Vanagan, curator and director at Hauser & Wirth, Somerset. The team was also given a private tour of the Hauser & Wirth’s Alexander Calder exhibition From the Stony River to the Sky.
BRITISH LIBRARY TALK
Lucy Musgrave spoke about our work in civic urbanism as part of the lecture series, ‘Rethinking Public Value & Public Purpose,’ at the British Library for the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.
IDENTITY & COMMUNICATIONS
This year saw the launch of our new service area, Identity & Communications. Our graphic design team produced a time-lapse film of Piccadilly Circus communicating changing patterns of use during a 24 hour period and are currently developing a new visual identity for the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Next year they’ll be working with the Soho Neighbourhood Forum on an editorial design project for the Soho Neighbourhood Plan.
COLOMBIAN STUDY TRIP
In May, Lucy travelled to Bogotá to spend time with Mayor Peñalosa and discuss the work Publica is doing for the GLA and the Port of London Authority on a cultural vision for the River Thames in relation to his plans for the 37km river of Bogota. She also visited planners, architects and investors in Medellin to study the city’s bold strategies for ‘social urbanism.’
INTERNATIONAL WORK
Following our work in New York, Publica has been appointed to a major international project in Toronto.
THE CROWN ESTATE
Publica has worked with The Crown Estate on a number of key sites in London and is excited to work on developing an ambitious placemaking strategy for their Central London Estate.
Thank you to our clients, collaborators and friends with whom we’ve had the pleasure to work and celebrate our milestones over the course of the past year. 2018 marks a tremendous year for Publica: we’ve defined our role as a leader of urban change. We’ve articulated and championed Civic Urbanism, completed the design of the iconic commercial and civic space of Bond Street, launched two new publications, developed a Cultural Vision for the River Thames, and have worked to radically improve the streets and spaces of the Oxford Street District for the City Council. We’ve officially moved into our new office in the City of London this year. We look forward to developing our international programme in 2019 and another successful and productive year.