Working with us

If you have a project, an idea to test, or a problem in need of a creative design solution and collaborative thinking, we’d love to hear from you.

Our mission at NLA is to make London a better place for those who live, work and visit. We support this by facilitating collaboration and innovation. With our partners, we help solve urban problems and test ideas by engaging expert and emerging talent from both our 25,000 strong cross-sector networks, and beyond.

Our expertise

At NLA, we believe that by working together we can shape a better city. We strive to improve the quality of people’s lives by making London a better place to live, work and visit – we do this by engaging government, the professions and the general public, through research, exhibitions, events and collaborative projects.

We are longstanding facilitators of urban innovation and experimentation, and have 15 years experience delivering competitions and collaborative design workshops, from small scale interventions to major public buildings and masterplans.

As one of the Mayor’s Design Advocate organisations, we have ambitious design standards, support design research and are champions of diverse design talent.

Over the years we have helped deliver some of the most striking and impressive installations through LFA Competitions during the London Festival of Architecture.

What we do

Competitions
From major developments to public realm improvements, we manage the competitive selection and delivery processes for a wide range of project types, offering feasibility studies, brief development and collaborative end-to-end project support.

Commissioning
We offer advice and management for all aspects of architect and deisgner commissioning, collaborating on projects for both public and private clients.

Policy development
We facilitate collaboration between broad groups of stakeholders to develop and test out new thinking on policy formation across London, through interactive workshops and presentations.

Design Workshops

From specific areas of the city, to new conceptual thinking, we bring together practitioners from across the built environment industry to test and develop ideas at the earliest stage to help create briefs and guide future development strategies.

Community co-design

We engage and bring together representatives from local communities, professionals, local government representatives,
and other key stakeholders to collaborate on future strategies for specific areas of London.

Case Studies

LFA, Happy Street, Thessaly Road, 2018

Client: LB Wandsworth
Duration: Permanent

Happy Street was the outcome of a design competition organised by the LFA and Wandsworth Council, and part of an initiative to improve the public realm around Nine Elms and Thessaly Road as a key transport route.

Together with the team at Wandsworth Council, winning Yinka Ilori has worked closely during the development of the project with local residents and nearby St George’s C of E Primary School, helping to empower people to engage with and shape their local neighbourhood.

LFA, City Parklets , 2019

Client: City of London Corporation
Duration: 3 months

Architects, designers and artists were invited to submit a design proposal for a bespoke public parklet that will transform an unused kerbside space into a place to rest, relax and admire the City.

The miniature landscaped spaces were intended both to showcase fresh design talent, and raised important questions about the boundaries between the individual and public realm within the city. Over 90 teams responded, with the final three entrants selected by an expert jury.

LFA, Dulwich Pavillion, 2017/19

Client: Dulwich Picture Gallery
Duration: 3.5 months

The second edition of the Dulwich Pavilion at Dulwich Picture Gallery.

The ‘Colour Palace’ – designed by Pricegore with Yinka Ilori – was the outcome of an open design competition organised by the LFA and Dulwich Picture Gallery, designed to serve as a temporary outdoor structure for summer 2019, gracing the lawns outside Sir John Soane’s iconic gallery.

LFA, Harrow Road Canalside, 2019

Client: LB Westminster
Duration: 1 month

The Co-Mooring – a community-based project devised by WY Design, tomos.design, COMPENDIUM and Studio Yu – was selected as the winner of a the Harrow Road design competition to create a new public realm intervention alongside the Grand Union Canal.

The project created opportunities to connect boaters with local people, breaking down boundaries between the area’s transient and permanent residents.

The Tooley Street Triangle

Client: Team London Bridge

Charles Holland Architects won a design competition organised by the LFA and Team London Bridge in 2018 to help people to orientate themselves near London Bridge and to transform a busy but dull traffic island opposite the main entrance to London Bridge station. Covid-19 restrictions prevented the planned installation of The Tooley Street Triangle in April: its installation now marks a turning point and a beacon of hope as London opens up following weeks of lockdown.

NLA, Millenuim Mills, Royal Docks, London, 2018

Client: Lendlease
Format: 8 architecture practices, 3 days of briefing presentations, site tours, workshops, peer & stakeholder reviews to explore and develop proposals for the future of the Millennium Mills site.
Output: NLA Report & the charrette led to a design competition and RfP process where participants were invited to submit their proposals.

NLA, Re-inventing the London Plan, 2015

Client: ARUP
Format: Invited group of 80 senior descision makers from planning, policy, development, architecture, community & academia. Full day charette developing ideas for accomodating London’s Growth.
Output: Independent NLA report, highlighting industry recommendations on key issues for the next London Plan.

Contact us

If you have a project, idea or problem in need of a creative design solution or collaborative design thinking, we’d love to hear from you. Contact the Client Relationship team on membership@nla.london

Email us

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