People care about their local area and should expect good quality design. Improving the quality of the built environment requires commitment from a wide range of participants to oversee planning, design development and co-ordination of a project.

For us, design is an interactive process and with input from all interested parties we are able to tailor our schemes to best fit the needs of a community. Proactive consultation with stakeholders, including the local authority, tenants’ or resident associations, social housing providers and community and business groups, leads to procurement and construction where ideas are refined and adapted to achieve the optimum outcome.

We aim to use innovative approaches to make sure we can reach as many people as possible including focus groups, design workshops, exhibitions and other forms of engagement that go well beyond the statutory requirement to consult. We see this aspect of the project as a fundamental part of the process of delivery that can only improve its chances of success.

Further into design development we often organise stakeholder visits to exemplar projects, so they can see first-hand how the options proposed could translate in the real-world.

Lambeth Civic Quarter

Throughout our work with Lambeth Council and development partner Muse, we worked closely with the council's stakeholders and the local community to ensure that their needs and aspirations for the project were not just met, but were integral to the way we approached the project.

We took part in several community consultation events to gain public support. A three-stage process was held from the summer of 2014 through to the following autumn. There was also closer engagement with the residents of the adjacent streets and properties.