Quintain collaboration with LSE wins Europe-wide award for co-creating public space with young people

Quintain collaboration with LSE wins Europe-wide award for co-creating public space with young people

24 Jul 2023

 • Seen & Heard and its legacy project the Apprenticeship in City Design, a collaboration between London School of Economics (LSE), Quintain and the London Borough of Brent has won a coveted Eurocities Award in the ‘Young people co-creating public spaces’ category.

• Seen & Heard and the Apprenticeship gave young people aged 16-24 a voice in the design and management of their local public spaces at Wembley Park.

• The outcome includes Samovar Space, a purpose-built area at the foot of the Olympic Steps and Wembley Stadium, designed for and by young people as part of the Apprenticeship in City Design. 



Seen & Heard and its legacy project the Apprenticeship in City Design, a collaboration between LSE, Quintain, the developers behind Wembley Park, and the London Borough of Brent, has won the ‘Young people co-creating public spaces’ award at the annual Eurocities Awards. The awards ceremony took place on 14 June 2023 during the Brussels Urban Summit event, co-hosted by Eurocities.

The engagement with young people sustained over four years and sees young adults aged 16-24, who are often overlooked by conventional development and planning, working with architects and developers to co-create spaces and places that are welcoming for them. 

Ricky Burdett, Director, LSE Cities, said: “It’s rare that the Mayor, a local authority, a developer, a university and a youth group get together to develop a long-term project to engage young people in shaping their environment and to raise the level of understanding of what it means to design and make a public space that really works. This initiative has set new standards for public realm in London. The LSE has been delighted to be involved.”

Quintain funded this project as part of Brent’s year as the May of London’s Borough of Culture 2020, including six paid opportunities to learn through practice at the LSE. Participants worked with experts on processes and policies for the management of public spaces and are also worked on real-life examples of truly inclusive spaces across Wembley Park. The first of these, Samovar Space, was completed last year, with another, White Horse Square, due to open in 2024.

Samovar Space is an inclusive space designed for and by young people on the site of a small carpark at the foot of Wembley Stadium. The aim was to design a place to ‘just be’. It features dining, shelter and collaborative areas, including a purpose-built platform that will play host to events for young people throughout the year. 

Julian Tollast, Head of Masterplanning and Design, Quintain, added: 

“It is a sad fact that young people are often overlooked when it comes to the built environment. With this in mind, we are extremely proud of the work we have done, and are continuing to do, via Seen & Heard to make Wembley Park and the wider area a more welcoming place for all. To succeed at these awards and represent not only the Borough of Brent but London as well was an honour for all involved.” 

Councillor Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Growth at Brent Council said:
 
“We are delighted that the Seen & Heard project has been recognised as a leading example of community-led design in Europe. The Samovar Space is within a stone’s throw of Wembley Stadium, the second largest stadium in Europe, so we’re really pleased that young people from across our borough have been able to put their stamp on this area for the young people of today and generations to come.”

Seen & Heard competed against projects from across Europe for the prize category, including the Overlooked exhibition at Leeds City Museum and Hej! an open and inclusive youth space co-create in Lublin, Poland.

Dr. Julia King, Research Fellow at LSE project lead: 

“In establishing the Apprenticeship in City Design I wanted to think of a method for engaging with young people that could be sustained over a long period of time taking a project from conception through to completion; and in doing so give young people the tools to research their own experiences, inform design processes and have a voice in planning and development. It was a great privilege to work with this group of young people who have shown that when local young people are included, they can easily articulate their unmet needs. It is wonderful to receive this fantastic recognition of the great achievements of the young apprentices.”

Speaking to the press, Burkhard Jung, President of Eurocities and Mayor of Leipzig said: “The award winners are an endless source of inspiration for successfully turning challenges into solutions. Against the background of the climate and energy crisis, war in Europe, and an uncertain future for our youth, Hamburg, Bilbao and London spearheaded positive change, paving the way for others to follow in their footsteps.”


-ENDS-


For more information, please contact:

Harriet Pask, Quintain
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3219 2200
Email: [email protected]

Jesse Peacock, London Communications Agency
Telephone: 07931123143
Email: [email protected]


About Quintain 

• Quintain is the award-winning development and asset management company behind Wembley Park, one of London's most exciting new neighbourhoods and is the third largest residential developer in Ireland.

• Quintain celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, with 20 years since acquiring its interest in Wembley Park. To date, the 85-acre development has seen over £2.7bn invested and welcomes on average 16 million visitors a year. 

• Asset management has been one of Quintain's key strengths for the last 20 years, not only for its wholly owned properties, but also in joint ventures and for third party landlords. 

• Quintain has been managing residential properties on behalf of other landlords at Wembley Park since 2008. Its success in this market led to the 2016 launch of award-winning residential management business, Quintain Living, now focused on the management of Quintain's institutional quality, Build-to-Rent (BtR) asset and property management platform and pipeline. In 2022 Quintain Living was named EG’s BTR Specialist and RESI’s Property Manager of the Year.

• Quintain is delivering approximately one third affordable housing at Wembley Park with its Discount Market Rent BtR homes pepper-potted, tenure-blind amongst its Quintain Living developments. Quintain’s sustainability strategy falls under the pillars of People, Place, and Property. More information can be found at www.quintain.co.uk/sustainability.

www.quintain.co.uk 
www.quintainliving.com 
www.wembleypark.com 


About Seen & Heard

Seen and Heard was a Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture project commissioned by Metroland Cultures, delivered by The Blueprint Collective with Brent Youth Parliament and in partnership with the London School of Economics and Quintain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seen & Heard and its legacy project the Apprenticeship in City Design, a collaboration between LSE, Quintain, the developers behind Wembley Park, and the London Borough of Brent, has won the ‘Young people co-creating public spaces’ award at the annual Eurocities Awards. The awards ceremony took place on 14 June 2023 during the Brussels Urban Summit event, co-hosted by Eurocities.

 

The engagement with young people sustained over four years and sees young adults aged 16-24, who are often overlooked by conventional development and planning, working with architects and developers to co-create spaces and places that are welcoming for them.

Ricky Burdett, Director, LSE Cities, said: “It’s rare that the Mayor, a local authority, a developer, a university and a youth group get together to develop a long-term project to engage young people in shaping their environment and to raise the level of understanding of what it means to design and make a public space that really works. This initiative has set new standards for public realm in London. The LSE has been delighted to be involved.”

Quintain funded this project as part of Brent’s year as the May of London’s Borough of Culture 2020, including six paid opportunities to learn through practice at the LSE. Participants worked with experts on processes and policies for the management of public spaces and are also worked on real-life examples of truly inclusive spaces across Wembley Park. The first of these, Samovar Space, was completed last year, with another, White Horse Square, due to open in 2024.

 

Samovar Space is an inclusive space designed for and by young people on the site of a small carpark at the foot of Wembley Stadium. The aim was to design a place to ‘just be’. It features dining, shelter and collaborative areas, including a purpose-built platform that will play host to events for young people throughout the year.

 

Julian Tollast, Head of Masterplanning and Design, Quintain, added:

 

“It is a sad fact that young people are often overlooked when it comes to the built environment. With this in mind, we are extremely proud of the work we have done, and are continuing to do, via Seen & Heard to make Wembley Park and the wider area a more welcoming place for all. To succeed at these awards and represent not only the Borough of Brent but London as well was an honour for all involved.”

 

Councillor Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Growth at Brent Council said:

 

“We are delighted that the Seen & Heard project has been recognised as a leading example of community-led design in Europe. The Samovar Space is within a stone’s throw of Wembley Stadium, the second largest stadium in Europe, so we’re really pleased that young people from across our borough have been able to put their stamp on this area for the young people of today and generations to come.”

 

Seen & Heard competed against projects from across Europe for the prize category, including the Overlooked exhibition at Leeds City Museum and Hej! an open and inclusive youth space co-create in Lublin, Poland.

Dr. Julia King, Research Fellow at LSE project lead:

In establishing the Apprenticeship in City Design I wanted to think of a method for engaging with young people that could be sustained over a long period of time taking a project from conception through to completion; and in doing so give young people the tools to research their own experiences, inform design processes and have a voice in planning and development. It was a great privilege to work with this group of young people who have shown that when local young people are included, they can easily articulate their unmet needs. It is wonderful to receive this fantastic recognition of the great achievements of the young apprentices.”

 

Speaking to the press, Burkhard Jung, President of Eurocities and Mayor of Leipzig said: “The award winners are an endless source of inspiration for successfully turning challenges into solutions. Against the background of the climate and energy crisis, war in Europe, and an uncertain future for our youth, Hamburg, Bilbao and London spearheaded positive change, paving the way for others to follow in their footsteps.”

-ENDS-

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Harriet Pask, Quintain
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3219 2200
Email:
[email protected]

 

Jesse Peacock, London Communications Agency
Telephone: 07931123143

Email: [email protected]

 

 

About Quintain

 

  • Quintain is the award-winning development and asset management company behind Wembley Park, one of London's most exciting new neighbourhoods and is the third largest residential developer in Ireland.

     

  • Quintain celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, with 20 years since acquiring its interest in Wembley Park. To date, the 85-acre development has seen over £2.7bn invested and welcomes on average 16 million visitors a year.

     

  • Asset management has been one of Quintain's key strengths for the last 20 years, not only for its wholly owned properties, but also in joint ventures and for third party landlords.

     

  • Quintain has been managing residential properties on behalf of other landlords at Wembley Park since 2008. Its success in this market led to the 2016 launch of award-winning residential management business, Quintain Living, now focused on the management of Quintain's institutional quality, Build-to-Rent (BtR) asset and property management platform and pipeline. In 2022 Quintain Living was named EG’s BTR Specialist and RESI’s Property Manager of the Year.

     

  • Quintain is delivering approximately one third affordable housing at Wembley Park with its Discount Market Rent BtR homes pepper-potted, tenure-blind amongst its Quintain Living developments. Quintain’s sustainability strategy falls under the pillars of People, Place, and Property. More information can be found at www.quintain.co.uk/sustainability.

 

www.quintain.co.uk

www.quintainliving.com

www.wembleypark.com

 

 

About Seen & Heard

 

Seen and Heard was a Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture project commissioned by Metroland Cultures, delivered by The Blueprint Collective with Brent Youth Parliament and in partnership with the London School of Economics and Quintain.

 

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