LandsecU+I

Our Creative Director Martyn Evans Hon FRIBA wrote an opinion piece for Green Street News: Europe on why we need to bring creativity back into creating communities.    "Over the last two years, we have been working with Dan Dubowitz, an academic researcher at the Manchester School of Architecture who believes that our current system of city-making, rooted in outdated industrial-era practices, is fundamentally flawed and that it's time for a radical new approach that addresses modern challenges like climate change and social inequality head-on." – Martyn Evans “For too long, people have felt like development is happening to them, not with them. By establishing a spirit of care and collaboration in remaking cities, developers have an opportunity to create a level play field, which results in better places for all.” - Dan Dubowitz, Cultural Masterplanner.   Dan's focus on Cultural Masterplanning is changing the way we approach the work we do with communities, encouraging us to be open minded and develop approaches to community engagement and partnerships that have longevity. Dan stresses the importance of being flexible, inclusive, and transparent, striving for true collaboration.

Last month when we rounded off our #community engagement in Lewisham with Sister Midnight Sister Midnight hosted a series of DJ workshops in No.25, our consultation hub, which has been a hive of activity across May and June. This has included various ways of making connections: our partnership with PRELOADED and Esports Youth Club , the sharing and discussion of our latest master plan, inspiring people to delve into the world of Fortnite to see our Lewisham map and rounded off with a creative music focus. Music is an important pillar for the regeneration of Lewisham, and Sister Midnight were a perfectly placed partner to help us shape the music scene in the heart of the centre, as we look towards developing a music venue in the space. No.25 has had over 1,400 visits over the past few months, with the Lewisham community sharing their insights and hopes for the future of the centre. 🎥 Gersende Giorgio

As the 2024 Olympic Games prepare to open tonight we throwback to London 2012 and the MVMNT🏅 This vibrant café and performance building sat on a former development site and was designed by artist Morag Myerscough using daily tweets by poet Lemn Sissay across the piece. Utilising reclaimed materials, the furniture was collaboratively designed with Luke Morgan and the structure was built from scratch in 16 days to coincide with the opening of the 2012 Olympics. The cafe was positioned right by the gateway to the Olympic Games in Greenwich and enjoyed by all.

In January, we announced the dates. Today, three months before the opening of the eighth edition of Utopian Hours, we present the festival’s new visual and lineup. Friday, October 18 to Sunday, October 20, will be three days packed with inspiration, stimulation, and opportunities to open the conversation on city-making with many international leading experts. Today, city-making is a crucial, fascinating, multifaceted topic. Utopian Hours has been passionately investigating it since the first edition — and has grown into one of the most interesting international festivals for its openness to exploring the urban phenomenon. Our invitation is more explicit than ever: if cities are at the center of your work, your research activity, or if you suffer from the fascination of cities and are passionate about seeing how they change over time, Utopian Hours is the festival you can’t miss. The Early Bird promotion is active until July 31 (limited availability). Buy your festival pass now at a discounted price! https://utopianhours.it/ Among the guests of this edition we announce: Nadina Galle (Author of The Nature of Our Cities) / Ya-Ting Liu (Chief Public Realm Officer, NYC Office of the Mayor) / Kristian Villadsen (Gehl - Making Cities for People) / Nicolas Détrie (YesWeCamp) / Matt Grunbaum (Field Operations) / Martyn Evans (LandsecU+I) / Dirk van Peijpe (De Urbanisten) / Sarah Castle (IF_DO) / Nick Gaskell (Hawkins\Brown) / Nick Hannes (Author of New Capital: Building Cities from Scratch) / Jaanus Juss (Telliskivi Creative City / Telliskivi Loomelinnak) / Ralph Horat (Next Gen Village Association) / Sneha V. (The Feminist City Podcast) / Zala Velkavrh (Prostorož) / Illah Van Oijen (Punkt NGO) / James Ehrlich (ReGen Villages) & more TBA. Artwork: TIKAL, Damiano Boldrini Remixed by Stratosferica #utopianhours #citiesarementalweapons

#loveparksweek Mayfield Park in Manchester really has become a Park for the People. Back in September we spent two days talking to visitors to the Park from dog walkers and joggers to the mums and pensioners, many of whom remember the site of old and have been blown away by the transformation. It was heartening to hear so many positive testimonials and to appreciate quite how much the park has bought to the local community. From a derelict former industrial site to a vibrant public space, Mayfield Manchester really is an inspiring benchmark for parks of the future made possible by LandsecU+I and the Mayfield Partnership. Here’s what they had to say…..

A few years ago, #Mayfield was a a patch of overlooked land behind #Manchester Piccadilly Station - now, a thriving green and blue space which is a hub for the local #community and the start of a growing #neighbourhood. And recognising the immense effort that has been put into transforming this urban oasis, the 6.5-acre park has now been awarded with a Green Flag Award, a prestigious world-wide accolade marking the city's first new green space in 100 years as truly exemplary. Our gratitude to the Green Flag Award judges for this recognition, who noted: “In our 20+ years of judging we have never seen such an outstanding urban park". This recognizes our commitment to providing a beautifully maintained and environmentally #sustainable green space for the community. Thank you to everyone who made this achievement possible - from the Mayfield Partership, LandsecU+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and LCR Property, to the brilliant park designers Studio Egret West, and many more including Buro Happold, P.P. O'Connor, Civic Engineers, Layer.studio, and Massey & Harris (Eng) Ltd. 📸: Richard Bloom #GreenFlagAward #CommunityPride #sustainableliving #MayfieldPark #NatureInTheCity #GreenSpaces #nature

In 2020, in the teeth of the Pandemic and with everything on hold, we committed, with Government support, to build Mayfield Park. It would become Manchester's first new park for 100 years within a new 24-acre city district - a public-private partnership regeneration scheme right in the heart of Manchester.     We had always planned to build the park first as a way of sticking a stake in the ground, setting out our intention to create a proper place that's fit for an incredible City, with much-needed greenspace at its core. With our partners from Manchester City Council, LCR and Transport for Greater Manchester, we secured the financial support we needed to begin work.     Following an intense design and build period, we opened Mayfield Park to the people in September 2022. This image captured the moment Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening with the help of hundreds of school children from across the city. Designed by Duncan Paybody and Max Aughton from Studio Egret West, also Mayfield’s masterplan architect, with Deloitte, Buro Happold, Civic Engineers, P.P. O'Connor and many more. Mayfield Park is beautiful! It has hundreds of mature trees and tens of thousands of shrubs and plants, all around the daylighted River Medlock which flows through. You can hear the sound of children playing, and you'll see wildlife that has returned. The park is open every day of the week and is run by a knowledgeable and passionate park estate team. This is about as far from being a bit of landscaping in a property development as it could be.   The experts have agreed. Since opening, we've received industry recognition for many aspects of the park and this week we were proud to receive a prestigious Green Flag. In particular, we were blown away by the judge's comments, “In our 20+ years of judging, we have never seen such an outstanding urban park.” This is what it’s all about for me – independent, expert endorsement of the hard work we are all engaged in to make Mayfield a new place with the quality that Manchester deserves. We could not have done this without the support of our amazing team, our designers, engineers and contractors, our partners and those in Government who saw the opportunity to deliver a beautiful place in the centre of Manchester. I’m very proud of everyone who contributed and to those who continue to ensure Mayfield Park is an amazing place to be. Thank you! LandsecU+I, Landsec, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester, LCR Property, P.P. O'Connor, Deloitte, Buro Happold, Civic Engineers, Richard Upton, Laura Percy, Danny Williams, Kate Parkes, Olivia Courtney-Clegg, Hannah Coulson MRICS, Jessica Martin, Leigh McCaveny, Al Dickens, Nikesh Mistry, Mike Harrison, Emma Cullen, Dave Evans, Duncan Paybody, Max Aughton, David West, Lucas Lawrence, Charmaine O'Connor, Colin Byrne, Katie Wray, Stephen O'Malley, Julian Broster

"In our 20+ years of judging we have never seen such an outstanding urban park." We are excited to announce that Mayfield Park, in Mayfield Manchester has won a Green Flag Award, an international award scheme that recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces.     It’s the first Green Flag Award for a new city-centre park in #Manchester, and the 8th industry award for #MayfieldPark, which we opened in September 2022.   The judges said -  “The original design and specification standards are exceptional, the facilities are of the highest standard and the site security and cleansing is excellent. The play facilities are inspired and exciting, the horticultural and arboricultural standards are brilliant, and the biodiversity of the site is cared-for and blooming. It was a real pleasure and privilege to be the first to judge this world-class park.”   As Mayfield Park continues to evolve and develop, Laura Percy, our Senior Development Director, is dedicated to bringing more nature and ecology to Manchester City Centre with the team. “Urban parks like ours bring huge value to our neighbourhoods both in terms of their economic value in developing and transforming our cities, and the social and environmental value they can bring to people and the planet. We are so proud to have integrated nature and ecology back into Manchester city-centre and we hope to be flying the Green Flag over Mayfield Park for many years to come.”

Congratulations to the Landsec | Spotlight team who launched an incredible new space "Below The Lights" this week underneath one of the most famous brand platforms in the world. They host their first official partner in the space, Williams Racing presented by Kraken, ahead of the #BritishGrandPrix weekend. A hive of activity, this week sees Piccadilly Lights transformed into a Fan Zone, including an AR experience, merchandise, simulators, show cars, Esports and more from 2nd July - 7 July.

Our Senior Development Director Laura Percy is a cover star! 🌟 As the lead for our Mayfield transformation, Laura has been a driving force since joining the project in 2023. With a passion and deep knowledge for the city and region, it's no wonder that Laura has been featured in Insider Media's Property Power list, as one of the most influential people in property in the North West of England.