PRESS RELEASE: Drummond Street Neighbourhood Vision
Contact: Georgie Street
Email: georgie@eustontown.com
Phone: 07506 737 773
Embargo: Immediate
Ambitious new vision for Euston neighbourhood, by Euston Town & Jan Kattein Architects
A creative three-part public realm strategy for the Drummond Street area has been released, signifying an exciting future for a new destination that embraces culture, identity and community.
The Drummond Street area, known for its authentic South Indian cuisine, is a truly unique London neighbourhood — a cluster of independent businesses a stone’s throw from one of the UK’s busiest stations, boasting a characterful residential community of numerous cultures united in their love for their home.
They are under immense pressure from Hs2 construction and the uncertainty surrounding it. The businesses have suffered a damaging decrease in footfall and the community feel they have little power to influence the development on their doorstep.
Euston Town business improvement district commissioned Jan Kattein Architects to form a vision that brings to life the ambitions of residents, businesses and visitors. The goal was to develop exciting short, medium and long-term proposals for a new destination, with a sense of purpose and place, alive with a thriving economy and community events.
The strategy is a product of interviews and consultations with local stakeholders, including a live exhibition inviting people to move interventions around and add their own comments.
Split in to three sections — KAY GATEWAYS, MAKING AN ENTRANCE, KNITTING TOGETHER -Euston Town now has a cohesive set of plans which: propose customized and creative projects that provide a high street designed for the people, facilitate events celebrating the community, and create a sense of place that allows a day and night time economy to thrive.
The strategy incorporates lighting, murals and green infrastructure, with new shared garden spaces and a raised road surface providing a pleasant walking environment. These interventions complement green infrastructure already in place as part of the Euston Green Link, and efforts to build on the area’s creative scene under the Euston Town Cultural Strategy. The third stage introduces exciting and innovative meanwhile uses whilst construction takes place around the station, including a popup high street and shared courtyard for food markets and events.
As the popularity for independent businesses serving authentic world cuisines intensifies, this vision sets Euston as the lucky home to one of the capital’s treasures.
The document forms the basis for several significant funding applications that Euston Town BID is making with various partners, and will be achieved in steps as funding becomes available.
Euston Town head of projects Georgie Street said:
“We are working to preserve a unique cluster of independent businesses, and hand back control to the local community. These architectural ambitions represent an unusual approach to regeneration, putting the interests of those already in the neighbourhood, at its core. Jan Kattein’s methods mirrored our own values and we are very excited to start realizing these plans.”
Press release, images & full vision document here.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Euston Town is a business improvement district, set up in 2016 to represent the interests of businesses particularly in the context of HS2 and the area’s regeneration. Responding to its members concerns, projects in the past three years have focused on the future of Euston, the neighbourhood’s identity and community, and the public realm, environment and air quality. Euston Town endeavors to apply for Mayor of London and central government funding to achieve an ambitious vision for Euston and its communities, establishing them a firm place in the major regeneration it faces.
Jan Kattein Architects is a design studio that advocates socially engaged working methods. It embraces design as an opportunity for dialogue and exchange. Pro-actively building relationships with communities helps the team to shape projects that make a civic contribution, supporting economic, cultural, educational and social prosperity.
Euston Green Link is a walking route between Euston Station and Regents Park via Drummond Street, devised as a project by Euston Town. It aims to encourage healthier travel choices, by promoting a lower-exposure walking route, the use of Regents Park by locals and to drive footfall to Drummond Street. The project demonstrates an overall branding scheme which has been created by Bolter Design for the neighbourhood, and interventions so far include large planters, a green wall, a pocket park and branded hoardings.
The Euston Town Cultural Strategy was developed in collaboration with Camden Council Arts Dept and MTArt Agency, and displays a new commitment to building an inclusive and meaningful cultural scene. The representative Culture Group will be one forum used to consult on the development of the Drummond Street Neighbourhood Vision.
