Quintain launches Samovar Space at Wembley Park

• The purpose-built space, located at the foot of the new Olympic Steps, was designed for and by young people, created by apprentices as part of the London School of Economics (LSE) Apprenticeship in City Design
• The space was delivered in partnership with architects Flanagan Lawrence and includes art by Lois O'Hara, as well as places for young people to hang out, create and communicate
• Samovar Space was launched as part of a drop-in community event on Saturday, 22 October, attended by local residents, LSE apprentices and programme lead at LSE, Dr Julia King

Quintain, the developer behind London's Wembley Park, has opened Samovar Space to the public, an area expressly designed by and for young people in recognition of the value of their role in inclusive urban design.

Situated along the iconic Olympic Way, at the foot of the Olympic Steps, the space was launched as part of the LSE Apprenticeship in City Design, delivered in partnership with and funded by Quintain. The apprenticeship empowers young people to become directly involved in community design benefitting under-represented groups in the built environment. The project is the result of 26 months of collaboration with five apprentices ages 16-24, who undertook a learning and working experience at the LSE paid at a standard researcher rate.

Samovar Space was devised as a sociable, open-air space, somewhere where people could spend a long time without having to spend any money. Something to do without having to do anything. The apprentices' chosen themes of 'Collaborate,' 'Calm,' and 'Consume' emerged as three budding, loose ideas, devised to provide design intention without strict definitions or rules for the project, designed around a purpose-built Sound Shell designed by Flanagan Lawrence that will play host to events for young people throughout the year.

Samovar Space takes its name from a large, communal kettle popularly used to brew tea in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Associated with family events and community gatherings, a samovar epitomises the welcoming and non-commercial spirit that the apprentices wanted their proposal to embrace.

The Apprenticeship in City Design is a legacy project of Brent London Borough of Culture 2020, of which Quintain was a principal partner, and has been developed and lead by Dr Julia King, a research fellow at LSE Cities. The space was designed in collaboration with architects Flanagan Lawrence who worked with the Apprentices through an iterative process to help translate their initial conceptual ideas into realisable spatial solutions. The space also includes a site-specific floor mural, Think Independently, Together by multi-disciplinary artist Lois O'Hara, developed alongside young local adults whose critical feedback shaped the final artwork.

Julian Tollast, Head of Masterplanning and Design at Quintain, said:"It is a sad fact that young people's needs are often overlooked when it comes to the built environment. With Samovar Space, we wanted to give this demographic a place to hang out and so we set the LSE apprentices the task of designing something they felt was fitting. It's important for us that alongside all the changes local people are seeing at Wembley Park it remains an inclusive neighbourhood for all and so we are proud to have worked with the talented LSE apprentices to deliver this special project.

Dr. Julia King, Research Fellow at LSE and Samovar Space programme lead said: "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. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn greater attention to how important it is to have just and inclusive public space but if young people are absent from the design, decision-making and planning process, how can we ensure that spaces are truly for them. It has been 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. We have also found that in designing-in young people we have ended up designing-in a lot of other groups which is evident when you go to Samovar Space and see so many demographics using the space in a range of ways."

Jason Flanagan, Partner at Flanagan Lawrence, said:"Collaborating with the LSE apprentices to help realise their vision for the Samovar Space has been a unique and enlightening experience, and the process, led by Dr Julia King, LSE's programme lead, has developed an innovative approach to involving community groups in the design of inclusive public space."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.