Example Single Shop Unit Treatment: 51 High Street

Proposed

improve window display to showcase all products sold inside shop

replace existing tiles to stall riser with new tiles to suit colour theme

handpainted graphics to showcase products

Example Shop & High Level Unit Treatment: 30 High Street

Existing

Proposed

reinstate and embellish ornamentation at high level

traditional vinyls onwindow to de-clutter and organise display

shop brand identity colour scheme

EXAMPLE PARADE 3: Nos. 51 - 59 High Street

cutout signs reinstate original pillasters and stone corbels

single colour units

Existing

Proposed treatment reinstating rhythm and datums Proposed shopfront treatment (4 shops provisionally signed up in this parade)

Example Single Shop Unit Treatment: 53 High Street

Proposed

improve window display

emphasise existing shop brand / colour and identity

embellish existing original shopfront features

EXAMPLE PARADE 4: Nos. 6 - 30 High Street

Existing

Proposed treatment reinstating rhythm and datums Proposed shopfront treatment (6 shops provisionally signed up in this parade)

Example Single Shop Unit Treatment: 26 High Street

Existing

improve external display

new colourful canopy to suit shop colour scheme

new handpainted signboard and high level painting works

Proposed

new standardised external display for fruit and vegetables

High St Parades - Design Proposals 4

Strategy:• Reinstate pilasters, corbels and rhythm of parade and align signboards• No improvement works to chain stores as scheme only open to independent businesses• Each shop unit treated in individual colour scheme to suit brand identity

Existing Existing

Strategy:• Original intent to improve whole parade but not all shops signed up• Reinstate corbels and rhythm of parade and align signboards where possible• Canopies replaced to suit individual shop brand identity• Improved standardised external displays• High level painting work

Artworks: Flank Walls & Murals 5

To ensure that the different artworks will work together as a whole, all pieces have been curated by YOU&ME. The artworks use a variety of media including digitally printed tiles, photography and hand painted artworks. Each of the mural artworks has its own identity, and is by a different artist, YOU&ME have encouraged artists to draw from the same colour palette and repeat the same motifs. The artists are working to the following ‘themes’ for their designs, derived from our community engagement findings:

THEMES

ARTWORK LOCATIONS

STRATEGY

Surburbia

Local businesses &Maps

Local stories

Geometry

Local Context

Sky & Views

TactilityFunctionality

Typography & Text

People & Diversity

Products

Architectural motifs

Signage

Local landmarks

Greenery

Trades & Industries

Culture & Music

History

Nature

Pattern

Narratives

Materiality

HIGH STREET

THOR

NTON HEATH

Old murals

Colour

Location at no.9 (Above Fast Eddy’s Cafe) Locations at no.9 and no. 48 High Street are highly visible from the Whitehorse Lane Junction

Location at 48 High Street (above Kingsbury Estates)

Location at no. 57-59 High Street (Floor Fashion flank wall)

Location at 21 Brigstock Road (Shree Sakthy Ghanapathy Temple)Location at no.80 High Street (Perfectionist Hair Salon flank wall)

An important aspect of this project was that, as far as possible, it should be driven by the needs and wishes of the people who live and work in Thornton Heath, who use the High Street, and who know their neighbourhood best.

• To help ensure this, before we started designing, in Winter 2015, we held a big public workshop, and then two smaller ‘walking workshops’ led by a ‘public archaeologist’. These helped firm up a set of priorities to feed into the development of design proposals. • We then asked local people what they thought of our evolving proposals via drop-in consultation events at Thornton Heath Leisure Centre in Spring 2016. • In addition, the artists commissioned to make work for flank walls in the town centre organized their own workshops, involving local people directly in the creative process.

Four artists with strong local connections have been appointed through a competitive process (see Board 2). The following boards introduce the artists, how they have involved the local community in producing artworks and their design proposals. Some have worked with specific groups such as young people; others have held activities open to all.

Mural Artworks 6ARTISTS

1. Ben Connors www.benconnors.co.uk

2. Philip Dennis www.philipdennisart.com / www.apeonthemoon.com

“I wanted to celebrate the diversity and life of the area today, particularly as seen through the eyes of young people.”

Ben is a socially polemical artist and facilitator whose practice in part focuses on revealing stories and ideas about creativity, people and society. He knows Thornton Heath well and has family of all ages and generations in the area. He uses drawing, comics and events to provoke dialogues, often working with people who rarely have the opportunity to express themselves or communicate with wider audiences.

His mural design developed after working with local people on ideas of hidden stories, personal histories, anecdotes and knowledge that perhaps the ‘history books’ wouldn’t collect.His piece intendes to welcomes people into Thornton Heath, affirming to the community what they feel already exists and offering a path in the direction to the area’s future.

“If I drew what is interesting to me it would be very different to what other people saw and drew – I wanted my work to grow out of its context and my conversations with the community.”

Philip is an illustrator, born and raised in Thornton Heath and am currently living in the area. I have seen how public artwork has defined the character of other parts of greater London and am enthusiastic about similar development in the area where I grew up. He is interested in way in which to use his skills as an artist to benefit the local community.

All of Philip’s work involves symbol and pattern. His mural is a tiled patterned artwork inpired by imagery from the built environment and community of Thornton Heath.

Philip collected some of the imagery himself. He visited local clubs and institutions (the temple, the bowling club, St Alban’s Church) talking to people he met and thinking of motifs or shapes that might represent each group. He hopes that people may recognize their clubs or and that his artwork might bring more attention to some of these places.

How did local knowledge and the local community influence Ben Connor’s artwork?

• Hewasparticularlykeentoworkwithyoungpeople–somethingthatparticipantsintheinitialworkshopshastoldustheywanted–andteamedupwith Fico’s World, a forum of local young people who “share ideas, discuss issues in the community and teach change.”

• Hismuralwasheavilyinfluencedbyconversationswiththematmeetingsand workshops and in particular the pride that the expressed in CR7, through their words and drawings.

• Hethereforetriedtotosteerawayfromideasof‘ThorntonHeathisn’twhat it used to be’, and instead to capture and celebrate the area and its current diversity, as well as the energy of Thornton Heath past and present, through shapes, patterns and recognizable symbols. Passers-byshould be able to spot places and people that they recognize.

• ThorntonHeathhasareputationforitsmusicanditsfootballers,butthese are often perceived as ‘male’ activities. Ben wanted to ensure that the voices andachievementsof youngwomen locally also shaped themural –‘there’s more to us than music and football’. The images of the woman reading with a mortar board hat beside her, and the female choir, were directly inspired by working with Fico’s World.

• Allthequotesonthemuralarethingsthatlocalpeopleofallagessaidto us during project workshops.

How Philip has worked with the local community

• Philip held twoworkshops for local people of all ages. TheywalkedThornton Heath with pencils and notepads looking closely at its buildings and collecting shapes and patterns that interested them, then using these to make colourful collages. Philip directly translated some of this imagery into the artwork.

• Intheinitial2015workshops,localpeopleexpressedfrustrationathow‘shabby’ Thornton Heath is. They were also worried that graffiti or street style art might add to that feeling, especially as it aged. Philip therefore chose to workwithtiles,whichnotonlygivethepieceasmarthigh-qualityfeel,butare easy to maintain and have a long lifespan.

The artwork has planning approval

Artwork images Community consultations

Community consultationsCollected imagery

7ARTISTS

3. Mat Pringle www.matpringle.co.uk

4. Snapshot Collective www.tithproject.tumblr.com

“Community desire to see more and to celebrate nature in the area is the central theme of my mural.”

Mat is an print-maker illustrator who has lived in and around Croydon and Thornton Heath all of his life. His artwork is figurative illustration often with a narrative. I work in traditional dipping pen and ink before developing into larger screen prints.

He grasped the opportunity to be able to offer something back to the community in a creative capacity, taking some of the stories and history of the Thornton Heath community and turn them into large scale inspirational illustrations. His idea was to create an artwork on the theme of the nature of Thornton Heath, morespecificallythefloraandfaunaofThorntonHeath.

His artwork comprises of oversized circular cutout panels printed with illustrations onto an abstracted map of the area.

“We didn’t want to just make ‘art for art’s sake’. We wanted the art to be borne out of the community, and to involve local peo-ple in making something positive and colourful that they would really feel they ‘own’.”

Snapshot is a small photography collective started by Kelly Quintyne, a pool of local photographers who share a passion for the art of photography, and strive to create images that are visually expressive and tell stories. Snapshot also collaborates with other photography creatives connected to the Thornton Heath and Croydon areas.

The proposed “This is Thornton Heath Project” hopes to present a “snapshot” of ThorntonHeathcapturingouruniquesenseofplaceandCommunity–celebratingthe past and present, for current residents and generations to come. Our tagline is BE PART OF THE ART and we hope that by contributing and connecting to the project, the community will find enduring value in the final artwork. You can also check out the blog: tithproject.tumblr.com

How Snapshot has worked with the local community

How Mat has worked with the local community

• Matwasinspiredbycommentsfromthe2015workshopsabouthow–incontrasttowhatyoumightthinkfromawalkdowntheHighStreet–there is so much hidden nature and green space in Thornton Heath. People wanted to see more of this in the town centre.

• He held a workshop at which people shared knowledge of localplantsandanimals,suchasthealbinosquirrelsinGrangewoodPark,ortheJerusalem artichokes that are grown at Thornton Heath Rec.

• Participantsthenmadetheirownlinocutprint.Matusedsomeoftheseto inspire his artwork, such as the image of the pigeon.

• Matwascareful,whendevelopingthecharacterofhispiece,inresponseto community concerns, not to make the artwork look like graffiti. His piece is designed to evoke a more ‘traditional’ illustration.

• KellyandthesnapshotteamhavelivedandworkedinThorntonHeathfor many years. They have been involved in many local creative projects, so knew there was an appetite for collaborative art and photography.

• The Snapshot teamwas felt the sense of local pride expressed intheinitial2015workshopswasvery importantandthisechoedtheirownfeelings about their area. Kelly particularly liked the way that one participant described Thornton Heath as “a living organism”.

• Theywantedtheartwork tobeascollaborativeaspossible,andtoreflectasmanypeople’scontributionsaspossible.Itisthereforemadeupof dozens of photos taken by local people as well as photographs taken by the Temple, of their activities and festival.

• Participants contributed images that they felt represented andcelebrated Thornton Heath via a project blog, or by attending Snapshot’s photo walk workshop. The team also held a poetry workshop with local poet Darren Randon to produce texts in response to photos. They were aware that people really wanted to see younger residents involved in the regeneration activity so while it was open to all, the poetry workshop particularly encouraged younger voices.

• Individualphotographsandlinesofpoetryareused,likemosaictiles,to create a giant graphic signposting the presence of Thornton’s Heath’s GhanapathyTemple.Unlikesomeoftheotherartworks,this isatgroundlevel, so people can really get close to it and spot things they recognize.

Mural Artworks

This artwork is currently in planning and the final design is subject to planning changes

The artwork has planning approval

Community consultations

KELLY QUINTYNE SNAPSHOT

12 POETRY TILE 9

KELLY QUINTYNE SNAPSHOT

67

Tiled photograph example

Community consultations

Poetry tile example TITH blog

Food shop Kejetia takes its name from one of the largest markets in Africa and specialises in products from the continent. The previously blocked up window now displays products and anecdotes relating to the produce on sale

Example shopfront improvements in South End and Church Street, Croydon. Bulky light box signs were removed and replaced by hand painted signage and fascias in keeping with the original shopfront proportions

High level painting in London Road add colour and interest to building frontages

OTHER SHOPFRONT IMPROVEMENTS IN CROYDON

Low level shopfront and high level improvement works which included building cleaningandSOUTHENDWelcome graphic

High level painting and artwork in Walthamstow take cues from the area’s film director Alfred HitchcockJan Kattein Architects

Traditional hand painted wayfinding and signage panels provide welcoming graphics to flankwalls

HOW COULD THE ARTWORKS LOOK LIKE?

Selected examples of artwork graphics

LOOK FOR US ON THE HIGH STREET & COME AND SAY “Hello”

Alicja Borkowska Iris Papadatou Architect / Director Architect / Director

Design Team Structure

you&me

James Dixon Archaeology

Public engagement consultant

Lead consultant / Architect

Heritage consultant

Creatives

Low level shopfront parade improvement worksSouth End, Croydon. Artwork on hoardings to vacant units illustrate previous shop uses

Map artwork mapping local businesses and landmarks signpost the entrance into the High Street shopping area Verity-Jane Keefe

Tile artwork. South End CroydonJenny Bowers

Patterns inspired by the carpet shops products animate these permanently down shop shuttersYOU&MEArchitecture

LOVEWESTGREENROADvacant unit shutter artworks liven up empty shopsYOU&MEArchitecture

A green leafy artwork takes cues from the local areas history - the myth behind ‘Seven Sisters’ name which derived from seven elms planted in a circle with a walnut tree at their centreYOU&MEArchitecture

The window above the Photo Express Shop has been repeated at low level to enhance the quirkycharacterofthissmallbuilding

This rundown shopfront has been sensitively redecorated introducing sparkly mirrored vinyl which gives visual interest and reference barbers mirrors

Airmail borders, a world map and beach umbrellas brighten up this travel agents

GNTCshopkeeperrequestedGhanaflagcolourstorevamptheirshop.Narrowbandsof colour with product icons create impact whilst improving views inside

How might the finished work look? 8ABOUT THE DESIGN TEAM & WORK EXAMPLES

YOU&ME(www.youandmearchitecture.com)arearchitectswithexperience in public realm and high street regeneration projects. We have worked on similar shopfront improvements projects, recently deliveringover40shopfrontsinTottenhamandBarking.

Our interest lies in how architecture, art and public space can be stitched together to create animated and loved public spaces. On all our projects we work very closely with the local community and consultation is key to our approach. On this project we are working closely with Daisy Froud, who is supporting us as a public engagement consultant.

Here are some examples of our previous high street improvements work: