Architecture, Cities & Urbanism at London Met

New book by Cities’ Prof Mark Brearley and Carmel King. BOOK LAUNCH SOON - watch this space. 🏭 A fascinating look behind the doors of the workshops and factories of London that make everything from glass eyeballs to automobiles. Walking through London's busy streets, you would not imagine that the city boasts one of the world's most diverse manufacturing scenes. Today there are around 4000 manufacturers based in Greater London, building on the city's rich heritage of making. While producing world-class goods, they are all jostling for space and dealing with familiar challenges, such as rising rents and trying to keep developers at bay.



This book provides a fascinating glimpse behind the doors of London's making and manufacturing companies: the processes and spaces that are so often hidden from view, and the people who work there, from sole traders to workforces numbering in the hundreds. The introduction is written by Mark Brearley, an architect and Professor of Urbanism at London Metropolitan Museum who also owns the London-based tray and trolley manufacturer Kaymet. The main part of the book is arranged into chapters grouping similar types of manufacturer. In total, 50 businesses are featured, ranging from the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham, the biggest factory in London; to William Say, third-generation tin-can makers, in Bermondsey; Nichols Brothers, bespoke woodturners, in Walthamstow; Growing Underground, a salad farm in old air-raid shelters under the streets of Clapham; and Jost Haas, Britain's last glass-eye maker, in Mill Hill. Specially commissioned photography by Carmel King captures the making process, the materials, the finished products and the staff at each manufacturer, while concise, engaging descriptions are provided by the design and architecture journalist Clare Dowdy. Made in London is a timely celebration of the vibrant manufacturing scene that contributes so much to the creativity, vitality and economy of the city.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781858947020?gC=5a105e8b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5eP6__zf_QIVia3tCh2FOwTnEAQYBSABEgLkwfD_BwE

Tomorrow 1st March Mhairi McVicar, Stephen Kite, Sian Moxon & I will be discussing & 5.30-7pm, chaired by Ambrose Gillick of the A is for Architecture. tickets here: lnkd.in/eqKxci9q

Brilliant projects from the past. Ways to insert dense industrial accommodation into the city - here integrated into Northumberland Park station. This project is from 2015 by the erudite Alex Spicer (we think! Although the folder it’s in is only marked with initials). Let’s assume it is Alex’s work and tell you about him... Alex graduated from with a distinction and is now a registered . Since 2016 he’s been with Matthew Lloyd Architects where he focusses on the design of and community assets, founded on effective stakeholder involvement. He has a strong interest in the design of homes and their wider impact on cities, underpinned by a belief in the importance of refined architectural . 😎🤩🤓 people from the Cities Unit go on to greatness! 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻Follow us for more new and old student work, or visit our website to see how you can join one of our postgraduate architecture/urban design courses or undertake PhD research www.citiesresearch.org. 🧜🏼🧜🏼‍♂️🧞‍♂️🧚🏿🧞‍♀️🧞🧟‍♀️

Site densification project by Anna Mason and Niamh Lenihan for the retail store site off the which currently contains Halfords and PetsatHome. An economy-friendly development project which included a decanting strategy so businesses could keep running successfully even while moving. Anna and Niamh designed an which included giant multi occupier ; frontage and depth; and re-accommodated all existing businesses on the site. They worked together on their project and shared their final (very high) mark. Niamh was an MA Architecture, and student. Anna was an MArch Architecture (RIBA2) student. Dream team! . . Follow us to see more great work from the Cities Unit (MA, MArch and PhD) at London Met school of Art, Architecture & Design. . . WANT TO APPLY? It’s never too early to apply for September 2021 and change your life. If you’re an architect who wants to expand your skill set into city-scale thinking (maybe you’d like to get I to urban design, or urban policy-making, or work for a think-tank to make the world a better place...) visit our website www.citiesresearch.org. . . london🇬🇧

Site visit!

Hopscotch.

Early camper trip to Covent Garden to see the silent morning city. It’s exquisitely clean.

Cass Cities studio still going strong in lockdown. Here the students are constructing their ideal city under the dutiful tutelage of Dr Jane Clossick, Senior Lecturer in Urban Design.

Front doors to first floor, garage doors to ground floor. Classic arrangement in in

Beautifully painted lines keeping people in spotted near 👏🏻🥰. . . . . If you’re a person who loves to walk around the city, taking pleasure in the little details, unpicking the meaning behind the details, surfaces, objects and behaviour that you see... MA Architecture, Cities and Urbanism could be for you. Our students spend a lot of time ing about the city observing, participating, recording and researching through design interventions - sometimes as tiny as this line painted on the road! A little action with a big meaning. For more details about the kind of projects we do in Cass Cities check out the website, and please get in touch if you’d like to discuss the possibilities with course leader Dr Jane Clossick. Links and details in bio. 😎👍

Lost shop fronts series. They’re pleasing to look at, and well cared for with their verdant greenery - but the civic urban depth of their former lives is gone, never to return. It’s not active frontages which make for a vibrant city, it’s active urban depth. 🇬🇧 @ London, United Kingdom