Meanwhile uses with purpose
Here’s a brainteaser for you: what links broadcasting legend David Attenborough, DJ duo CamelPhat and a type of ornamental garden architecture? If you were thinking “meanwhile uses” then you were spot on. (And if you weren’t, the answers are at the end of this Perspectives.
In particular, as P-THREE sees community as a major driver in future development, the potential of meanwhile uses to build relationships with local communities is almost priceless. Though it is worth noting they can generate economic value, too.
Meanwhile uses have come a long way in recent years, when the earliest examples (typically community gardens) were often simply seen as a way of placating local authorities concerned about empty ‘eyesore’ spaces or were exercises in rates mitigation. While both of those factors remain true to a certain extent, the broader value of activating temporary spaces has become widely recognised, evidenced, for example, by the temporary appearance of the Boxpark modular retail/F&B brand at major London development sites at Wembley Park and Croydon.
In particular, as P-THREE sees community as a major driver in future development, the potential of meanwhile uses to build relationships with local communities is almost priceless. Though it is worth noting they can generate economic value, too.
For me, the challenge facing owners/developers in the 2020s is not whether to create temporary spaces, but how to obtain the optimum results. I think of this as ‘meanwhile uses with purpose’.
Until recently the focus of meanwhile uses has been on the ‘meanwhile’. I suggest that it needs to shift firmly towards the intended end use, with the meanwhile use clearly defined as a stepping stone towards a newly created place. This process of adaptive re-use has been neatly summarised (though I can’t take the credit for the phrase) as “meanwhile to worthwhile”. The legacy of successful temporary uses can energise and boost end developments.
This fresh way of thinking is already starting to happen. In Croydon, for example, masterplanner Freestate and start-up New Working Class have teamed up with owner URW to temporarily lease vacant retail space in the Whitgift Centre. The aim is to set up a vocational educational establishment that trains a new generation of retail and leisure staff, by giving them practical experience in real-life stores and leisure destinations, ahead of eventual redevelopment of the site (see previous Perspectives for more on this project).
The good news for site owners/developers is that there are plenty of innovative and dynamic partners waiting in the wings – the difficult part is choosing those that present the best fit for the intended end use. Some are high profile, such as TVG who moved from meanwhile to permanent use at Flat Iron Square, Broadwick Live, the operator behind the phenomenally successful Printworks at London’s Canada Water, which is now involved in the foodhall/events Freight Island pop-up at Manchester Mayfield, and Skylight Bars, the operator behind well-known attractions at Tobacco Dock and Peckham in London. Others are locally-based start-ups, who could grow with their location.
Whatever the scale of the meanwhile use (and not all need to be large to have a lasting impact), it should reflect the scheme’s end values, including a drive towards creating happier places. I think meanwhile uses can also draw inspiration from short term leases at long-term development sites. Stratford Padel Club in east London is an excellent example.
Meanwhile uses with purpose are surely multiple-win situations, as all parties are likely to benefit from positive environmental outcomes, economic outputs, enhanced social value and optimum end use states.
As all sites are unique there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so owners/developers will need to think carefully about what works best for them.
As a happy footnote, Printworks is slated to return to its original venue in Canada Water as soon as 2026. While this is great news for the location, it is, I think, a rare example of a use changing the masterplan, rather than the masterplan defining uses, and I certainly wouldn’t count on seeing many similar cases elsewhere.
* Brainteaser answers: The immersive BBC Earth Experience, with narration by David Attenborough, opened earlier this year for a limited time at the former Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre. In April, CamelPhat played during the closing weekend of the Printworks music venue at Canada Water. Restaurant group Incipio temporarily ran a Pergola brand rooftop bar at Kensington Olympia.
Article by Thomas Rose, Co-founder P-THREE
Photo credits: TVG
