We Made That

We are looking for examples and case studies of good practice when writing and implementing cultural strategies.

We Made That and Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy have been commissioned by the Local Government Association to produce a guide for local authorities on writing a cultural strategy. The guide will offer a core framework approach along with key considerations for developing a strategy. This work is vital in maximising the impact of cultural assets for community cohesion, as well as the local economies in which they sit. 

For this guide to have maximum impact, it is crucial that we receive your examples of good practice, as well as challenges you have faced and what was done to rectify the issues. This will allow us to address as many relevant themes as possible and provide the best guidance possible for councils looking to develop cultural strategies in the future. 

To respond to this call with your evidence and experience, please email lorna@wemadethat.co.uk by Friday 15th November. 

In the 70th anniversary year of the New Town, We Made That are working alongside Cushman & Wakefield and Maddison Graphic for Basildon Borough Council on an ambitious masterplan for Basildon’s town centre. With business start-ups increasing faster than anywhere else in Essex, and capacity for up to 4,000 new town centre homes, the masterplan will guide investment and growth. The Borough have already begun significant change in the centre, with a £30m new leisure development and new college currently on site.

We Made That is working with Hatch Regeneris, PRD, 3Space, Graham Harrington Planning Advice and Stockdale on a spatial framework for the expansion of Kensal’s creative economy through the delivery of the Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area (KCOA). The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea were successful in securing Mayor’s Good Growth Fund (GGF) for £1m for a research and capital delivery project focused on employment delivery and the economy in and around the Opportunity Area. This has been match funded by £1m from the RBKC Capital Fund and the We Made That-led team commissioned.

The team will undertake research and develop interventions required to ensure that the KCOA’s development reflects, supports and boosts the creative economy alongside the local economy. Findings will underpin a framework, delivery plan and new employment space that creates opportunities in the short and medium term for North Kensington. The new workspace and interventions are expected to be delivered by 2021.

We Made That - supported by a team including Hatch Regeneris, Urban Movement, Graham Harrington Planning Advice and Stockdale - has been commissioned by London Borough of Wandsworth to produce an employment-led development framework for the Strategic Industrial Location and Industrial Business Park at the western end of the Nine Elms on the South Bank Opportunity Area.

Battersea Design & Tech Quarter aims to build on a strong existing creative economy which is forecast to develop further with future investment in the Nine Elms area, including the arrival of the UK headquarters of Apple and Penguin Random House. The arrival of the Northern Line, the expansion of the Royal College of Art’s Battersea campus and the ‘Apple effect’ is already generating investor interest in the area. Plans will draw on a strong existing design community in this part of Battersea with creative enterprises such as Philip Treacy, Vivienne Westwood and Foster and Partners and others.

We Made That, leading an exemplary consultant team, are excited to announce our successful bid to deliver the Tottenham High Road Masterplan. We will be working alongside well-established collaborators: Hatch Regeneris, PRD, Gort Scott, Urban Movement, AuthenticFutures and Stockdale.

Supporting the London Borough of Haringey in its ongoing regeneration programme for the Tottenham High Road area, the team will deliver an ambitious masterplan and lead the development of Concept Design and Business Cases to inform a Stage Two application to the Future High Streets Fund. In parallel, a supplementary package of interventions towards High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme funding will be developed, curating both sets of proposals to ensure a holistic approach to change. 

Proposals will include clear economic and social evidence, alongside well-crafted design embedded in people and place, to inform a selection of transformative projects to be brought forward. 

Come join We Made That at Eyesore Imprint publishing fair!

We Made That will be taking part in the Eyesore Imprint publishing fair exploring the city though print, on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December at The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, Fitzrovia, London, WC1E 7BT.

Rip it Up, Again

Holly Lewis will be in conversation with Thomas Aquilina, Marwa El Mubark and Siufan Adey from Afterparti, New Architecture Writers. They will be discussing setting an agenda for places and the profession through publishing, learning from We Made That’s Unlimited Edition newspapers and Afterparti’s fanzine. If we did it again what would we do differently? Our biggest mistakes, regrets and erratum laid bare. 

The Unlimited Edition

We will also have a stall where printed copies of The Unlimited Edition newspapers will be available, exploring, celebrating and speculating the future of places. Each issue is place-based, focussing on different cities across the UK and Europe, including Whitechapel, Bermondsey, Liverpool and Aarhus in Denmark.

More details of the event here

We Made That are excited to announce that we are working with Hatch Regeneris, PRD and Urban Movement on the second phase application for the ‘Future High Streets Fund’ for the town of March (Fenland, Cambridgeshire). 

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has shortlisted March amongst 100 other town centres across England. The application will explore innovative responses to bring transformative change to March town centre. 

The strategy will develop proposals around transport, housing delivery and public services with associated business cases setting out how to regenerate and develop March town centre.

We Made That are delighted to announce East Street Exchange won the Best Small Project category in the Blueprint Awards 2019.

East Street Library is one of two ‘catalyst projects’ that have been delivered as part of a wider strategy What Walworth Wants commissioned by Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority to make significant improvements to the area.

The new extension allows the library to enhance its offer, providing an affordable space for local businesses and community groups, a flexible meeting space, and space for a homework club.

Read more on the judges comments here.

We Made That have been commissioned by Waltham Forest Council to deliver building frontage and public realm improvements on Lockwood Way Industrial Estate in Walthamstow. 

The project can be viewed as a second phase to the interventions delivered as part of the Blackhorse Lane project in 2014, that was funded by the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund programme. 

We Made That will be working with Stockdale and Europa to deliver the improvements, following a successful collaboration on the previous Blackhorse Lane project.

We Made That are looking for a skilled Part I/ II architectural assistant to join our practice. The ideal candidate would have a desire to work on urban-scale strategies, participative co-design projects and early stages of project development. 

Deadline for applications is 31st October 2019 and details of how to apply can be found in the job description pdf.

Holly will be speaking at the Museum of Architecture Special: Alternative Careers in Architecture event on Thursday 17th October at Benk + Bo, 4-6 Gravel Lane, Spitalfields, London, E1 7AW.

The discussion is part of a series of talks that explore the vision, ideas and approaches that architects bring to other professional environments. The series has brought together a broad spectrum of architects to talk about their respective forays into areas that go beyond traditional practice, featuring explorations into the power of data, communities, exhibitions, graphics and fashion.

Other speakers include Matt Thornley (Gibson Thornley Architects), Laura Sanjuan (SODA) and Chris Hildrey (Hildrey Studio), chaired by Robert Fiehn, a freelance communications consultant working within the built environment industry.

We are pleased to share that East Street Exchange has been shortlisted for the Best Small Project category in the Blueprint Awards 2019.

East Street Library is one of two ‘catalyst projects’ that have been delivered as part of a wider strategy What Walworth Wants commissioned by Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority to make significant improvements to the area.

The new extension allows the library to enhance its offer, providing an affordable space for local businesses and community groups, a flexible meeting space, and space for a homework club. Its proportions and materials are designed to be distinct from the existing building. Bright anodised cladding and a perforate ‘turret’ make it a characterful contribution to the neighbourhood. The interiors prioritise flexibility of use with bespoke furniture that can be ‘flat packed’ and stowed away on pegboard walls, clearing the space for alternative setups.

The full list of awards and nominees can be found online and the winner will be announced on the 17th October.

Nisha will be speaking at the Young Practitioners’ Network: Communication in the Urban Realm-Ethics, Audiences & Accessibility event, as part of Urban Design London, on Wednesday 11th September at Farrells, 7 Hatton Street, London, NW8 8PL.

The discussion will focus on the changing role of communication in the built environment sector, looking at digital platforms and the online persona’s responsibility in organisations, as well as ethical and inclusive communication of design projects in-house and with the broader community.

Other speakers include Joseph Henry (GLA), Luuk Van Kessel (LB Hackney), Priya Shah (BAME in Property), Alisha Morenike Fisher (Black Females in Architecture) and Owen Wainhouse, (London Festival of Architecture).

Share your views and help test ideas for improving Penstock Tunnel.

Join artist Emma Smith to explore how spaces, light and colour make us feel and contribute your ideas to the artwork she is creating.

Wednesday 11th September 2019

3pm - 7pm

Penstock Tunnel in Wood Green

(near Coburg Road)

Haringey Council has commissioned architects and urban designers We Made That for the design and delivery of public realm improvements to Penstock Tunnel in Wood Green, alongside artist Emma Smith and lighting designers Studio Dekka. The tunnel forms a strategic link connecting Wood Green town centre and Cultural Quarter in the east with Alexandra Palace and Park and Hornsey in the west. The proposals seek to create better connections across the borough with improvements including drainage, wayfinding, lighting and landscaping, as well as an integrated artwork commission.

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted in the ‘Breakthrough Talent’ category of the FX International Interior Design Awards, which take place on 27th November. To vote for us and see the complete shortlist click here.

We’re delighted to announce that Nisha Kurian has been promoted to be Associate at We Made That in recognition of the fantastic work and important role she plays in the practice. Nisha will take an increased role in leading projects, supporting the wider team and representing the practice.

We Made That are excited to have been appointed to carry out the Bexley Urban Morphology Study, alongside Troy Planning + Design. The study will provide an evidence base for the council’s emerging Characterisation Study, which supports LB Bexley’s Growth Strategy as well as the production of several projects including a Design SPD. 

Both We Made That and Troy Planning + Design will draw on our expertise in GIS mapping systems and planning policy to produce an innovative visual analysis of the shape of the borough and its buildings. This will form a robust basis for understanding the present and future of the borough’s built environment.

What is radical today? 40 positions on architecture in the Architecture Studio at the Royal Academy of Arts.

We Made That are part of a free exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts that brings together 40 radical visions on how architecture can respond to today’s rapidly changing world, featuring the likes of Denise Scott Brown, Sam Jacob and Peter Cook. 

The display runs from 6th September to 7th November 2019 at the Architecture Studio, the Dorfman Senate Rooms, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts.

We are delighted to announce that Holly Lewis has been shortlisted for the ‘Female Leadership Award’ at the Building Awards, which take place on 5th November. The complete shortlist can be found here.