Earth Works Volume 01: Reclamation

We’ve started work on a new project in Lewes for Human Nature. Our long-standing client was lobbied by local people to re-masterplan this important former industrial site following a series of paper-plans by other developers.

Having completed the purchase of the land in April 2021 Human Nature's design leads and the wider team including Kathryn Firth, Ash Sakula, Expedition Engineers, SCDLP and many others are now intensively workshopping the masterplan.

The Architecture Foundation has published it's fourth review of emerging Architecture and spatial design practices 'New Architects 4'. Periscope is featured alongside a number of our collaborators. Find out more at the Architecture Foundation Website.

Welcome to Manal Omar who has joined the practice as an architectural assistant. Manal recently completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Brighton where her work explored a circular gin distillery for an aging population.

Our Stage 2 competition entry for Highgate Cemetery is now live on the public consultation website here. Through a workshop process we've evolved our plans submitted in the first stage competition, re-framing our thinking around a 'seven generation principle' for the management for the Cemetery over the remainder of this century.

We're proud to have been shortlisted for the Highgate Cemetery Masterplan competition. Periscope, with our key collaborators Something and Son, Useful Projects, Expedition Engineering, Parks Agency and Stockdale are one of four teams selected for Stage 2. Our proposal focuses on a system to balance future death ethics, climate resilience, circularity and financial stability while respecting the built and natural heritage, existing graves and sanctity of the Cemetery today.

Our team is supported by Museum of London Archaeology, Asling O'Carroll of UCL, Russell Miller, Dennis Vickers Ecologist, Studio Dekka and Max Fordham.

You can view the announcement on the Architects Journal here and on the Highgate Cemetery website here.

Our third research publication, 'Green for Victory: Parks and responsibility' is released today, it explores the lengths and that London communities go to in order to take possession of their local parks. You can download the publication on our research papers webpage along with papers one and two, the remaining pamphlet will be published in February.

Today we bring you an update on Future Fossil, an installation on which we've been collaborating with Something and Son, Aldo Rinaldi and ARUP. The project website has been expanded to show more about the process, engagement and design of the project and trails a series of talks that are happening in Spring 2021.⁠

Find out more on our website here and the Future Fossil website.

Today we release the second of four research pamphlets examining four key challenges that London's urban nature faces today. Issue 2: Parks and Open Doors, follows the stories of London's diverse communities as they try find nature nearby. You can download the publication on our research papers webpage. The remaining pamphlets will be published early next year.

Last week our project in Digbeth, Birmingham with HUB and Shed KM gained planning consent. Space for existing communities, access to the forgotten canal, 2000 homes and new workspace, much of which will be affordable and for local people. An exciting end to the year, well done to all involved. You can find out more about Bordesley Junction here.

Today we release the first of four research pamphlets examining four key challenges that London's urban nature faces today. Issue 1: Parks and the wild, treads the overgrown routes of Richmond Park to investigate how far we can tangibly connect with nature from the very middle of an urban capital city. You can download the publication on our research papers webpage. The remaining pamphlets will be published later this year and early next.

Daniel Rea is joining MHCLG's chief planner Joanna Averley, Lendlease's head of masterplanning Selina Mason and Indy Johar of Dark Matter Labs at the ULI UK's Digital Infrastructure and Urban Development Product Council Day on Tuesday 24th November 2020. Daniel will be speaking on the topic 'What is Infrastructure?' focussing on how Periscope's high performance landscape systems deliver economic, environmental and social value. Find out more here.

Today we are launching our new research Atlas, you can find it here. Atlas is a visual catalogue of Periscope's project based investigations together with curiosities from our research platform.

Later this month we'll be publishing the first paper from our research platform, further updates will follow throughout the month.

Welcome to Antonia Alexandru who started with Periscope this month. Antonia joins us as a Part II Architectural Assistant from Witherford Watson Mann having graduated from her Part II studies in architecture and landscape architecture in 2019.

We've updated the navigation on our website to improve speed and usability and to provide a more immersive experience. Thanks are again due to Villalba Lawson and United Forms for providing great design and programming help. Later this month we'll be launching a more extensive site update for our Research Atlas.

We're very pleased to announce that Kirsty Badenoch has been promoted to Associate and appointed Head of Research. Kirsty has been working with Periscope since early 2018, leading our masterplanning and detailed design work for Meridian Water in Enfield as well as a series of other projects. She will continue to lead projects but also now coordinates our new research working group, a cross-cutting team that will publish all of Periscope's research activities including our new bi-annual research publication, the first of which will be released this autumn.

We Are five today.⁠
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It's been a fantastic few years, sincere thanks to our collaborators, clients and team (past and present), you've all helped us get here and we're looking forward to the next five and where they take us.⁠

Periscope will be featured in New Architects 4, a publication by the Architecture Foundation showcasing the best new British based architecture and spatial design talent. The book will be published in Spring 2021, find out more here.

It's been two weeks since we de-camped from the office to work from home in this strange new world.

Collaborating remotely rather than over paper or around a model is new for us, but through necessity we're discovering really valuable new ways to show and draw ideas together.

Our team is working hard and fully available to our clients; you can reach us using email or telephone as normal. We hope you are all well and look forward to speaking soon.

Last night Enfield Council's planning committee granted consent for the Meridian Water Strategic Infrastructure Works and Phase 2 applications. This is a major milestone for the Meridian Water client and consultant teams, the consents provide for the delivery of 2,300 homes with supporting infrastructure for up to 5,000 homes. In 2019 Enfield Council secured £156m in Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) grants in order to fund the first phase of the Strategic Infrastructure Works for which contractor procurement is under way. Find out more on our projects page.

We've been longlisted for the Heath Park Competition to transform the former ICI business park in Runcorn (near Liverpool) into a mixed-use, carbon-free environment. Take a look at the Architects Journal story here for more information.