Glasgow public realm to boost business district viability
Glasgow skyline (image courtesy www.euansguide.com) Post Covid-19 are councils looking to put investment into public realm to improve the viability of business districts and city centres? Many offices remain empty due to the increased number of employees working from home due to the outbreak. Over a million pounds in developers' contribution funding has been approved by Glasgow City Council to deliver public realm improvements in Cadogan Street, which is located in Glasgow's
Manchester's tower of light to complete
Tower of Light for Manchester's Civic Quarter Heat Network (Tonkin Liu / Arup) The final sections are to be added to Manchester's 40 meter Tower of Light marking a significant milestone in the Manchester Civic Quarter Heat Network project. The tower is made up of nine sections called 'drums', each one measuring 4 meters wide, 6 meters long and 4 meters high plus a 1.8 meter crown section. The final sections were added overnight, to minimise local disruption. Once the Civic Qu
Hopes rest on The Box to boost Plymouth's economic recovery
CGI of the Box arts centre in Plymouth - which combines St Luke's church (on right) with the transformed and extended Central Library and City Museum buildings Plymouth City Council has announced that the new arts centre, The Box, will open its doors in September having postponed its launch in May due to Covid-19. The Box is the largest multi-disciplinary arts and heritage space to open in the UK in 2020. The council says it is a large part of the city's 'Resurgam' programm
Master-planning new towns around 'Science Cities'
CGI of proposed Waterbeach new town development sites looking south towards Cambridge What represents a best practice approach to creating new towns around 'science cities'? Future Cities Forum recently spoke to both Managing Director of developer Turnstone Estates, Chris Goldsmith, and to the Managing Partner of David Lock Associates, Julia Foster about the Waterbeach projects that will have a major impact on housing provision in Cambridgeshire. Chris described how his firm
The construction of affordable homes in White City leads economic recovery
Construction at Wood Lane, London W12 near Television Centre by St. James (taken July 2018) A key theme for debate when we carrying out our 'Science Cities' forum discussion this October will be the issue of how to house key workers in cities. Future Cities Forum interviewed the Chief Executive of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (Bruno Holthof) who is developing - with Oxford City Council - a Headington campus for R&D with key worker housing, and we also included Imperi
Council submits plans for renewal of London's Ebury Bridge Estate
Plans for the comprehensive redevelopment of the Ebury Bridge Estate in the City of Westminster have been submitted to the Local Planning Authority. The estate is a Westminster City Council owned 1930's housing estate, situated on Ebury Bridge Road in Pimlico, London. London's local councils began building housing estates in the 1890's, one of the first being constructed on the notorious Millbank prison site. The Ebury Bridge housing estate is built over the Grosvenor Canal
Museums look to expand public realm to create visitor confidence post Covid-19
Science and Industry Museum, Manchester (which will have a direct physical connection to The Factory development) Our second Future Cities Forum 'culture and tourism' online discussion involved contributions from senior leadership at Liverpool Museums, the Science Museum Group and architects Grimshaw. It looked at the need post Covid-19 of making the most of outdoor spaces around museums to connect with communities and visitors. Laura Pye, Director of Liverpool Museums, is o
The forgotten fringes of city and town living
Exeter Retail Park situated on western edge of city centre - and ten minutes walk from Exeter St Thomas station - an example of a successful development owned by Aviva Investors Why are the fringes of cities and towns so often overlooked for good planning and design? Future Cities Forum has been talking to one of our architectural members Stride Treglown about the reasons and what can be done. Associate Nik Hoggarth described the context and the challenges: 'Following the rel
Milligan to create cultural visitor boost for Ashford town centre
Earlier proposal by Ash Sakula Architects for creating a new public square for Ashford on the footprint of the Odeon cinema Ashford Borough Council has appointed specialist developer, Milligan to help deliver the ambitious Vicarage Lane town centre redevelopment project including MICA as part of the team. The scheme, which includes the former Mecca bingo hall in the Lower High Street is a proposed mixed use development aiming to deliver quality homes, cultural and performance