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 / Canada Water MasterplanGreen and blue
Book / King's Cross: The Making of a Masterplan

An exploration of an urban regeneration project that has raised the bar in citymaking, by the masterplanners and developer who authored this special piece of city.

Talk / Citymakers 2025: Places of negotiation

How can public-private partnerships continue to unlock the futures that our cities and communities need?

Project / Hale WharfIsland life
ProjectWoodbine Lands
View: Olympic Triptych at the Royal Academy
Research / ArtIbrahim Mahama's Purple Hibiscus at the Barbican

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

ProjectShougang Park and Exhibition and Conference Centre
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 / Citymakers: City Knowledge, Knowledge City

A centuries old relationship; knowledge production and the city. We explore how that relationship manifests itself in three UK cities, and how the dynamic is evolving.

ProjectBuilding 2, Quayside
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.

ProjectGothenburg Arena Quarter

Talk / Wilson Lecture 2023

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

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.

ProjectBarbican Renewal
Project / York CentralNew York-ness
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 / Madinat al IrfanUrban Picturesque

Urban Picturesque: on composing, representing and experiencing the city

Project / Msheireb Downtown DohaFor culture and climate
Research / Fabric of PlaceOn public, private and communal space

On public, private and communal space

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.

ProjectBeltline Yards
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.