The Urban Vision Bulletin from October 2014 discusses various urban innovations and developments in London, featuring notable speakers and projects such as the Olympic Park, King's Cross redevelopment, and the transformation of Borough Market. It highlights the integration of cultural, economic, and architectural aspects in urban planning and regeneration, emphasizing the importance of community and sustainable practices. Additionally, it underscores the collaboration between local and international stakeholders to enhance London's status as a global city.

1. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
The Urban Vision
Bulletin
A Summary of urban innovations from London

2. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Peter Murray, chairman at NLA, heralded the 2014 Leaders Study Program with an overview of London’s part,
present & future Developments at the Building Centre.
The highly acclaimed giant 1:1500 scale model of central
London with highlights all the recent and proposed
planning submissions, including the Olympic Park &
Kings Cross was the highlight of this session
Gerard Lyon Chief Economic Advisor to Mayor of London and one of UK’s
Leading Economists gave an insight on how to leverage urbanization for the right
model of Economic Development. His talk featured economic rationale and
secrets of the London’s economy power.

3. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Peter Bishop who was the first Director of Design for London, the Mayor’s architecture and design studio and
the past Director at the London Development Agency challenged our preoccupation with long-term strategies
and masterplans and questioned our ability to achieve these in the face of increasing resource constraints and
political and economic uncertainty. He highlighted the ideas of alternative approach to master planning is
beginning to emerge in London.
George Nicholson , Chairman of Trustees and Chairman of the development committee at Borough Market &
Director Coin Street Community Builders met with us chronicled the history of Barough Market .In the past
decade Borough Market, selling every culinary delight from epicure pork pies to smoked fish from the west
coast of Ireland and oysters from Colchester, has become one of London’s major tourist attractions, with most
real Londoners now knowing to turn up early to avoid the crush

4. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Borough was Britain’s attempt to create a market that would stand with the best of Europe - places like
the Bocqueria in Barcelona or the Marche Bastille in Paris that seem to sum up the difference between
continental and British food.
In the late 90s, when Borough began its
modern transformation into a food retailing
phenomenon, traditional markets were has-
beens and of no consequence to local or
central government. Farmers’ markets were
just coming to life - the first one in Bath was
held in 1997, but to policy makers they were
just niche add-ons for the middle classes.
Town planners looked at the country’s old
central market places and just saw lucrative
development opportunities for supermarkets,
offices, upmarket flats and chain
shops. Borough is now one of
London’s main tourist attractions and that’s
driven out many of the shoppers who made
the market a success. And because most of the
excited hordes are now not carrying shopping
bags, hot food to go is a much bigger part of
the market than it used to be. Rents for the shops
and the big permanent stalls have risen in recent
years and all but one of the wholesale traders have
moved out. Some of the original traders say their
relationship with the market’s management has
broken down and they no longer feel like Borough’s
most important asset.

5. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
One Tower Bridge is situated on one of the last great riverside sites in London.

6. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
This walking tour is led by Architect Camilla
Ween, Former Advisor to Mayor of London and
showcased the transformation of a derelict
waterfront area into one of London’s leading
Cultural districts.We were given insights into a
power station transformed into an art gallery. A tea
warehouse converted into luxury apartments.
Derelict industrial sites and depressed
neighbourhoods have been replaced with iconic
buildings and new cultural quarters. But
regeneration is not just about new buildings.
Behind the scenes there is also a web of political
decisions and power struggles. Bank . Architect
Camilla Ween, former advisor London’s mayor,
walked us from The Shakespearian replica of the
Globe theatre through the pedestrian Millennium
Bridge, the Tate Modern, Royal Festival Hall and
down to the London eye. South bank, in its full
sunset splendour will be the closing image of this
long day of learnings.

7. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Philipp Rode , Director , LSE Cities shared insights with a detailed focus on India & Mumbai brings its urban
growth into perspective with global trends to reframe how one of India’s largest and most dynamic cities is
understood.
Learning from innovations
in Design, Strategy &
Development in London”.
The list of speakers included:
Lawrie Robertson (BuroHappold), Colin Wilson (Greater London Authority), Sanjiv Gohil (CZWG),
Harbinder Birdi (Hawkins brown), Neil Deeley (Metropolitan Workshop), Michael Dillon (HKR Architects),
Angela Brady (Brady Mallilieu), Eric Reynolds (Urban Space Management), David West (SEW Architects),
Buckle Robin (Transport for London).

8. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
The Princes Foundation HQ building tour was a
fascinating case study that makes visible how
heritage buildings could be preserved and readapt
to modern uses, preserving its age qualities. Tom
Perry of the Foundation gave us a short talk on
Frameworks & Principles of design, architecture &
development which primarily focused on princiles
of mixed income , walkable mixed-use places served
by public transport.

9. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
The Mixed Income development
Highbury Gardens was named one of
the winners New Homes Awards;
"London's Property Oscars". This
project showcased that new mixed
income housing can fit into and
enhance a London neighbourhood, by
fitting into the neighbourhood while
providing contemporary comfort and
features. The multimillion pound
urban regeneration project also
includes office and retail space to
encourage local business in Islington.
Ashish Mishra of
SA Creative Labs
highlighted the value
of creative districts
and how to create
and enable them in
your city. We started
the creative realm
tour at Barbican

10. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
which is mixed use development with an anchor cultural centre. We also explored Shoreditch which is Europe’s
famous tech hub & the vibrant creative district of London .It is home to a vibrant and colourful culture of world
famous street art (including Banksy) , murals, cafes, bars, galleries, restaurants, fashion and markets. Creative
districts are becoming the most popular neighbourhoods in any city. Deemed the cultural or often arts quarter
this area in a particular city is thriving with artists, galleries, theatres and dance halls. These areas are often
encouraged by public policy-making and planning, including the injection of capital into urban revival.
However, at the genesis of these chic districts is the artists and creative’s themselves.

11. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Battersea Power Station was built in the 1930s but has stood empty since 1983, despite many failed attempts to
revelop the site. Now, a Malaysian consortium of investors called the Battersea Power Station Development
Company has bought the station, and is turning it into a luxury accommodation and leisure development.
We visited one of the most influential architecture
practices of our time. We got a studio tour and
learnt about the working style as well as meet with
key leaders and explore some of their latest
projects .The Group explained their design
process which are based on ecology -conscious

12. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
concepts, setting new standards for the interaction of buildings with their environment. Fosters also invited us
into their materials Lab , 3 D Printing Studio & the model making workshop

13. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol is British Architect, cultural entrepreneur, and the first elected Mayor of
Bristol. Bristol is UK’s IT & Creative Industry Hub. Ferguson has been described as "a prime mover for change
in attitude to planning and redevelopment in the South West region and beyond. He started his talk by
warning us to not copy western ideas and be seduced by imagery of the west. He said: “ My idea of good
architecture is about creating place. It's not about providing glitzy iconic buildings, competing one against the
other, but how we use the best of what we've go.”
This Site Tour featured Central London biggest construction project. The 67 acres King's Cross is the largest
& most complex redevelopment in Central London - 50 new buildings, 20 new streets, 10 new parks and
squares, 45000 people by 2016.We got an inside look into this ambitious project and got insights on
development politics , complex partnerships & design and long term vision of this transformative development.
Roger Madelin , CEO of Argent explained “ We wanted to create a place where people wanted to come, We
prefer mixed use, which spreads the risk, and multi-phase schemes, where we can create our own place and
environment if there isn't a good one to feed into, King's Cross is a framework that will have several

14. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
masterplans," "We have a public-private partnership with the city council and other private sector owners and
occupiers," he said. "We are looking at the public realm and its management and design, including the
shopfronts. I know this is a cliche, but the place can add more value than individual buildings. This is why we
want to retain part-ownership of everything we develop." "I am a firm supporter of democracy and we have a
planning system that, rightly, has been devolved to the local level. But it has a built-in attitude to oppose. If we
accept that some new homes, schools and offices are required, how can we speed up the process or change it to
enable local politicians to be able to say to the electorate that this is a good thing? reveals Madelin. In
conclusion, the visionary developer who has invested more than the requisite social infrastructure said “ You can
either embrace complexity or fight it. We embraced it and made it works for us”

15. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Roger Madelin on Investment into Social Capital of the region
Zaha Hadid Architects Studio is among the most famous starchitects known for the creation of contemporary
iconic architecture. The studio experiments with architectural design, exploring the latest technological and
material innovations. We will walk through the studio to explore their design processes and practices; study
some key projects and meet the key leaders.

16. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
The visit to Crystal, a sustainable cities initiative by Siemens exploring the future of cities showcased global
trends and challenges, alongside existing technological solutions to build environmentally sustainable, livable
and prosperous cities. Across ten zones, the exhibition encouraged us to change the way we all think about our
cities, now and for future generations. Through interactive exhibits, films, and animations you can explore a
range of issues including city trends, urban planning, smart buildings, safety and security, energy, water, healthy
life, environment, and mobility. Case studies from cities around the world share innovative ideas. The ‘Future
Life’ theatre invites us to imagine how cities might look in 2050.

17. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
The creation of The Olympic Park was a park led development. It features wildlife habitat, imaginative art
installations, and sports venues, including the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatics Centre, and Velodrome dotted
with housing. Landscape Designers from Atkins led this tour and shared the visions of restoring a river and
transforming a former industrial land, much of it contaminated through years of industrial neglect to create 100
hectares of parklands that provided a celebratory setting for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
as well as the Legacy Park for generations to come..

18. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Leaders Meeting: Chairman, Xu Weiping, Chairman, ABP
Xu Weiping, Chairman, ABP highlighted collaboration opportunities and shared insights and into the £1bn
plan to transform London's Royal Albert Docks into a European headquarters for Asian Business by ABP, one
of China’s large developers. Mr.Xu showcased the plan to transform London’s historic docklands into the
capital’s next business district, forging new trade links with China and other economies in the Asia-Pacific
region and securing billions of pounds of inward investment in the UK economy. ABP is among the largest
developers in China and have recently completed a large development of around 15 million square feet in
Beijing, while their Shenyang project in north-eastern China is even larger, with plans for 75 million square feet
when complete. This project is said to be hugely significant for both the Chinese and UK economies. “My
vision is to develop a world class international business district which will initially target Asian businesses to
help them secure a destination in London, which in China is seen as the gateway to both the United Kingdom
and the wider European economy. Our plans aim to strengthen trade between east and west, provide new local
jobs and deliver benefits for the wider London and UK economy.” Said Mr. Xu.

19. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014
Site Tour : Canary Wharf : Business District
We got a peek into Canary Wharf which transformed from a port to a major European financial district .Dan
Ringelstein, Director of Urban Design and Planning at SOM who worked on the planning of Canary Wharf
lead the tour . The tour showcased architectural designs of Foster & Partners, Cesar Pelli and SOM and gave
insights on the integration of transport, retail and residential, and the challenge of building surrounded by
water.
Thames River Architecture Cruise
We concluded the program with an evening journey down the River Thames exploring the key landmarks that
contribute to making London such a vibrant and –dynamic city.

20. The Urban Vision Bulletin October 2014