Crafting urban identities

From London and Manchester to the cities of the Gulf and Asia, dramatically changing skylines are a clear testament to the scale and ambition of redevelopment and expansion that our urban areas are currently undergoing. Yet despite this geographic diversity, much of what is being built looks the same. How can we counter generic development in the design of growing cities? Read more

Project / Madinat al IrfanAs if it had always been there
Book / Citymakers: City Knowledge, Knowledge City

A centuries old relationship; knowledge production and the city. Here we explore the different forms that marriage takes in three cities today, and how the dynamic is evolving.

Talk / Wilson Lecture 2023

On urban fabric: how did we lose it, and do we still need it?

ProjectAl Balad, Jeddah
Project / Msheireb Downtown DohaFor culture and climate
View: York Central
Research / ArtIbrahim Mahama's Purple Hibiscus at the Barbican

Wrapping the Barbican: Ibrahim Mahama’s vision for Purple Hibiscus

Project / King's CrossA work of urban repair
Research / London’s Olympic LegacyEast Bank Exhibition

East Bank is opening. At the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the project is the UK’s newest cultural quarter. To mark this milestone, Allies and Morrison has curated a new public exhibition.

Book / Complex City

Complex City is a detailed mapping of London’s historic layers, emerging from our work in characterisation studies. The book puts forward a new argument for character-based development.

ProjectBeltline Yards
Book / Citymakers: Pragmatics of the Picturesque

The Picturesque has come to influence how we look at and respond to the city. We investigate what the picturesque is, as both a theory of historic origins and as a practical design tool for urbanists.

Project / Canada Water MasterplanGreen and blue
View: Town Centre First, Ireland
View: North Quay, Wood Wharf, Sketch
ProjectBrooklands
ProjectDock Shed, Canada Water
Book / Citymakers: A new Urban Model

Msheireb Downtown Doha has sought to engage with a growing Gulf city's local climate and culture. To better appreciate it, we explored it as a case study in urban change.

Research / SustainabilitySustainability Strategy

The climate emergency demands a paradigm shift in our everyday lives. This is why we have developed our Sustainability Strategy to underpin what we do and inform how we design.

ProjectThe Liberty
Research / Madinat al IrfanUrban Picturesque

Urban Picturesque: on composing, representing and experiencing the city

Book / Citymakers: Exploring Models of Urban Development

To understand how new pieces of city emerge (or how existing ones evolve), we went back to study three models of urban development.

ProjectMIZA
Book / Fabric of Place

The Fabric of Place explores how cites, towns and villages can evolve and change by building on their historic form and identity rather than by sacrificing them.