Appendix 5: Images and proposed locations for Phase 4

a. Culture Mile Public Realm Branding A range of branding interventions will be introduced to increase brand awareness, express the Culture Mile district identify, improve wayfinding and deliver an inviting, immersive and connected public realm. All interventions will align to the Culture Mile Public Realm Branding Guidelines and colour palette. Interventions listed are those identified as requiring immediate application in the Culture Mile Public Realm Branding Guidelines to activate the space and support programming and delivery of the Look and Feel Strategy. They include (see map of locations and examples below):

Breadcrumb trails and wayfinding motifs on flagstones and walkways to announce the Culture Mile area and enable interactive exploration. Materials may include vinyl, thermo-plastic, etchings and chalk paint. Locations will include Silk Street, Long Lane, London Wall, Aldersgate Street and Cowcross Street subject to approval from LB Islington.

Large-scale Culture Mile logos to announce arrival in Culture Mile, provide information and interaction points and support knowledge of Culture Mile among residents, workers and visitors. Materials may include power coated plywood, metal and vinyl. Locations include Barbican, Smithfield Rotunda, Moorgate and London Wall.

Way makers, columns and post markers to encourage onwards movement and reassurance of place and direction towards Culture Mile, creating a sense of ‘approach’. We are exploring colour applications to existing lamp posts and columns, placemarks on existing columns and directional information applied to existing blank facades. Locations identified include Long Lane, Grand Avenue, London Wall, Moorgate, Finsbury Square and Fann Street.

Proposed intervention locations:

Proposed examples of installations extracted from the Culture Mile Branding Guidance:

b. Moor Lane Community Space – co-designThe Moor Lane project has undertaken a number of community engagement sessions to identify issues and needs of the local community. There is appetite to transform this space which will become a key gateway to Culture Mile once Crossrail opens in 2021. Issues identified include lack of greenery, grey/drab colour, lack of sense of journey, unwelcoming feel, lack of sense of community. Wayward Design Studio led these sessions and co-designed a number of intervention options which could deliver a welcoming, attractive, engaging and sustainable intervention for the community, simultaneously supporting wayfinding and the sense of connection to the wider area. The resulting designs play with colour, integrate trail elements, reflect the surrounding architecture of the Barbican, and provide sustainable greening and a community garden feel for local residents and stakeholders. These interventions will provide a test bed for the permanent interventions in Moor Lane after the completion of the 21 Moorfields Development.

Project location and current space use:

Proposed layout and planting elements:

c. Smithfield Rotunda and Making Spaces - Barbican co-commissioned

DBE proposes to run a competition in collaboration with the London Festival of Architecture for a Smithfield Rotunda and Making Spaces commission to deliver semi-permanent, multi-use structures, featuring Barbican programming content at different stages throughout the summer. A focus of the installations will be storytelling and the elucidation of social histories, sound and relaxation, so that visitors will be able to relax, listen and reflect in the Culture Mile area. The competition brief will request designers to design a central structure for Smithfield Rotunda, and a number seating pods to be placed across Culture Mile to provide street animation and drive audience interaction and engagement with the installations. The installations will ensure that Culture Mile always has something on offer, 24/7 and they will be accessible within the audiences own timeframe – such as on a commute to work, on coffee or lunch break, whilst socialising in the area or when there is ten minutes to spend between meetings. The partnership with London Festival of Architecture to drive the competition will enable the leverage of their unique and comprehensive access to designers and artists.

Proposed locations map to be included in competition brief: