Bankside Urban Forest / creative consultations, 2011

Bankside Urban Forest is an imaginative name for an imaginative set of projects and actions bringing new life and uses to the outdoor spaces of Bankside. Bankside Urban Forest is about making Bankside a better place to live, work and visit. It is a strategy for enhancing public spaces - including streets, pavements, squares and parks - in the Bankside area. As part of Bankside Urban Forest, Southwark Council, Better Bankside and Design for London have commissioned architects Adams and Sutherland, and Peter Brett Associates to develop a vision for improving the public realm along Great Suffolk Street.

Better Bankside teamed up with Ania Bas to hold a unique creative consultation event along Great Suffolk Street on 18^th August. The event gave the design team the opportunity to gather views on their early proposals.The consultation focused around a central information ‘hub’ with a number of artists working along the street capturing peoples’ views on the proposals. The artists who took part and the results of their endeavors are shown in the links below.

Large Scale Drawing by Ella Phillips & Ben H

Photography Project by Andrea Verissimo & Jan Lee

Photography Project by Banu Cansever Schmid & Valeriya Vygodnaya

Consultation Taxi by Hannah Metcalfe, Khairana Dewi, Kiera Blakey and Rosamund Knight

Documentation by Tobias Marshall

There was also a story left in the notebook! Have a read! (thank you Georgy

!)

Sitting on the longest bench you can find in the area, under the railway bridge… it is always nice sitting outside having your coffee, looking at the people. It can be funny seeing all of us – me who work here, the mobile coffee shop, cycling instructors and you… Just hiding from the rain in this tiny space… and people just passing fast…

Great Suffolk Street – it is one of the way to go to Tate Modern or the pub with great view by the river…

… If you are sitting longer you can even see Jude Law.. yeah, the actor… or someone just can ask you to write a story.. :)

With thanks to all the artists involved, Valerie and Bankside Urban Forest team.

Image /from photography project by Banu Cansever Schmid & Valeriya Vygodnaya