Sketching, retrofit contests and sequins were at the ready at this year’s Festival of Place, held at BOXPARK Wembley in July.

We’re longstanding supporters of the Festival, which aims to create a better, more sustainable and equitable future for everyone. This year’s jam-packed programme included inspiring content, workshops and walking tours which explored topics such as gender inclusive places; greening cities to combat climate change; trauma-informed design; healthy places and the positive impact of targeted retrofit.

Thank you to everyone who came along to our ‘3, 2,1 retrofit’ workshop where we delved into the challenges, realities and opportunities of retrofit with our hosts directors Leah Stuart and Gareth Atkinson, in an interactive Taskmaster-style gameshow.

Picking up their pens in a live challenge, each of our participating teams were given a twist on the brief, to design either a climate resilient, children-focussed or ‘retrofit done badly’ cityscape, with amazing results. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn, have some fun and meet others who care about transforming our places and spaces to be better for the future.

We also asked our audience to unpack what retrofit means, why it’s essential and the barriers we face as an industry. Watch this space for insights coming soon.

A timely discussion around how we can achieve a better, more inclusive and sustainable built environment for all. You can read more of our team’s thoughts on this in our Civic manifesto.