A core part of Cardinal Place public realm (link to this page) was our deeply meaningful community engagement, co-design, consultation and feedback sessions. These were led by BD and facilitated by social enterprise 2-3 Degrees and Soundings.
The approach to engagement involved six stages to involve a variety of users and help shape our proposals: (1) office worker questionnaires; (2) 'The Trial Phase'; (3) youth co-design; (4) consulting key stakeholders; (5) the social media launch; (6) the public consultation event.
We were really impressed by the young people we met in the youth sessions, and their genuine interest in shaping their environment.
The feedback from initial engagement was taken on board and presented back to the youth group. This allowed them to dissect and review their original proposals with fresh thinking, plus the knowledge we had imparted on how different roles in a design team work.
Alongside this exciting local youth engagement, the team consulted with a number of stakeholders: Westminster City Council, Victoria Neighbourhood Forum, Victoria BID, office customers and retail brand partners. All have been in person meetings, with feedback continually incorporated into the Cardinal designs.
In June 2023 we conducted a wider public consultation targeted at local resident groups, organisations and businesses. An online and social media campaign was launched to promote and build anticipation, with the dedicated Cardinal Place website presenting Landsec's ambition for the space and engaging close to 800 people.
The public consultation event was a comprehensive day of walking tours, workshops and art competitions. Through genuine conversations about access, social activities, biodiversity, and aesthetics, we captured the views of over 350 local residents, office workers and visitors.
