Urban pockets

 

In 2016, as i was standing under this bridge (the Hungerford Bridge in London) i imagined this wonderful wall utilised as a projection screen to be used as a backdrop to the public space one could create on the Southbank centre side for the summertime. An urban square where people could grab a bite, a beer and listen to some live music in the same way we used to do throughout the summer across the many towns and villages in Spain.

At the time, with no formal use of the area as a precedent, it sounded like a pie in the sky dream, however, through the sheer determination of our clients (Bleecker) we managed to persuade the Southbank team to let us test the concept of a temporary street food courtyard to last the summer of 2016.

The idea was such a success that it became an annual occurrence and since 2018 we have been directly employed by the Southbank team.

Our cities are full of pockets that can serve us as tools to make the ground floor of our cities much more human than they are. To support small businesses and to engage local communities while providing the levels of activity we are missing in the high streets.

Some companies have been working on food-focused initiatives and some social enterprises in community-led pop-ups but it seems (to me) there is a real opportunity of a partnership between @mayorofldn / GLA and city-wide landowners to develop local SPDs which encourage the kind of opportunities that will bring life to our city.

As an architect, I would certainly love to get involved in something like this

( if you are wondering what happened to the idea of using the wall as a screen, as it happens, there are light restrictions related to the safe running of trains, and Live music within the space cannot be encouraged because of rules related to crowd management within the Queens walk)