Category Archives: Urban Manifesto

In Urban Manifesto Series , we are creating a manifesto for a happier, healthier and liveable urban future

Urban Manifesto, Video & Webcasts

Urban Manifesto – Sustainability Strategies

In this session on Sustainability Strategies we speak to Tara Gbolade, architect and co-founder Gbolade Design Studio and Julian Marwitz, Founder of Urbanomy, urban and energy planning consultancy.

RIBAJ Rising Star Winner, Tara is a Co-Founder of GDS. She previously worked at Mace Group and RG+P Architects, where she was responsible for the strategic organisation and growth of the company, while successfully leading exciting and challenging residential developments for private and public-sector clients. With her expertise in design and planning policy, Tara leads the Harlow & Gilston Garden Town Sustainability Strategy, and sits on a few Design/Quality Review Panels including; Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, and Merton Councils – advising the council on major planning applications. ​

Julian Marwitz has studied law and sustainable urban development in Geneva, Hong Kong, Germany and at the University of Oxford. During his studies he founded several companies and worked in corporations such as Microsoft, Volkswagen, SAP and Allianz. Some of his major achievements include winning the largest startup competition for pupils in Germany, contributing towards a new legal convention for the UNEP and participating regularly at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Julian was formerly the Executive Assistant to the CEO of JLL in London and Development Manager of ECE, European market leader in shopping malls. He is passionate about sustainability, travelling, building technologies and the development of megacities.

Urban Manifesto, Video & Webcasts

Urban Manifesto-The Future of Development

In Urban Manifesto Series , we are creating a manifesto for a happier, healthier and liveable urban future as the world transitions from the COVID emergency into a new era. In this session we discuss “ Future of Development” with Jonny Anstead’s , founding Director of TOWN and Surendra Hiranandani, Founder and Managing Director, House of Hiranandani.

Urban Manifesto is co-hosted by Lucy Bullivant, place strategist, author & founder of Urbanista.org and Prathima Manohar, founder of think-do-tank The Urban Vision. We are partnering with the Architecture Foundation as part of its ongoing 100 Day Studio online initiative: https://www.architecturefoundation.or…

Jonny is founding Director of TOWN, a developer with a focus on delivering well-designed and sustainable homes, streets and neighbourhoods. Set up in 2014, TOWN works at varying scales, including community-led housing projects of 20–40 homes, mixed-use, residential-led town centre regeneration schemes, and large-scale urban extensions. TOWN is the developer of Marmalade Lane, a 42-home cohousing project in Cambridge. At larger scale, Jonny is leading TOWN’s work on a 5,500-home new quarter of Cambridge, in partnership with U+I Plc.

Surendra Hiranandani, Founder and Managing Director, House of Hiranandani has the distinction of transforming barren land into some of India’s most vibrant lifespaces. The real estate projects undertaken by his firm over the years across Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad visibly blend aesthetic beauty with practicality and sustenance. He is a pioneer in introducing indigenous species of trees and shrubs into the fabric of urban communities. Today his company is synonymous with innovation, quality construction, superior design and adherence to delivery schedules. Surendra Hiranandani has been globally recognised for his outstanding contribution to the real estate sector, particularly for his architectural acumen. He has also been honoured with numerous awards such as, for adapting the best of foreign technology to the skills of Indian engineering and labour artistry by the American Concrete Institute; not to mention a fellowship from the Indian Plumbing Association for his contribution to the plumbing profession – He is credited with the introduction of copper plumbing and the use of fly ash in concrete across the country.

Urban Manifesto, Video & Webcasts

Urban Manifesto: Making Cities More Mobile

In this session we explore ‘Making Cities More Mobile’, with Peter Murray, Curator-in-chief, New London Architecture and Chairman of the London Society and Shabazz Stuart, founder and CEO of Oonee, creators of urban mobility infrastructures, and formerly Deputy Director of Operations at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

Urban Manifesto is co-hosted by Lucy Bullivant, place strategist, author & founder of Urbanista.org and Prathima Manohar, founder of think-do-tank The Urban Vision.

Speaker bios. Peter Murray is Curator-in-Chief of New London Architecture (NLA). He trained as an architect but has spent most of his career writing about and commenting on architecture rather than practising it. He studied at Bristol University and at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in Bedford Square. He edited the weekly newspaper for architects, Building Design, before moving on to the Royal Institute of British Architects Journal. Peter curated a number of major exhibitions at the Royal Academy including the 1986 New Architecture: the work of Foster, Rogers, Stirling, and Living Bridges in 1996. He founded the design and architecture magazine Blueprint and the global communications company Wordsearch which specialises in design and branding for architecture and real estate. He started the London Festival of Architecture, a significant annual event in the cultural life of the capital. New London Architecture was founded in 2005 as a centre for debate and discussion about the changing face of the capital. Peter has written numerous books including The Saga of Sydney Opera House, London’s Growing Up  and Great Estates. He has recently completed a book on The Leadenhall Building by Rogers Stirk Harbour. Peter is a keen cyclist and since 2006 has cycled to Cannes for the MIPIM real estate show held there every March, an annual ride comprising architects, developers and consultants who raise over a quarter of a million pounds each year for charity. In 2013 he rode 4300 miles across America and the UK with a group of architects and planners studying what cities en route were doing to improve infrastructure for cycling as well as raising money for charity. He is a Mayor's Design Advocate and Chairman of the London Society. Until recentlyhe was a Visiting Professor at the IE Business School in Madrid. 

Shabazz Stuart is the founder and CEO of Oonee, a company that focuses on creating the next generation of urban mobility infrastructure for bicycles and scooters. Recently, the company unveiled a patent-pending modular pod that provides secure bicycle parking as well as placemaking amenities. This free- standing structure is capable of being installed in less than a day and can be configured to a wide variety of shapes, sizes and looks in order to accommodate evolving site conditions. Unlike conventional solutions, Oonee is designed to enhance public spaces, with a special emphasis on amenities that everyone can enjoy like benches, ambient lighting, WiFi and greenery. The company aims to create a network of over 20,000 secure parking spaces in New York, as well as networks in other cities. Growing up in Brooklyn gave Shabazz a special appreciation for the issues that weave our neighborhoods and cities together. Since graduating from Tufts University in 2011, he has spent much of his time working to make urban areas better connected, cleaner and more liveable. He is passionate about improving city life, especially when it comes to equitability, mobility and transportation.