Martin Evans writes in Building Design (BD) of how the Old Truman Brewery in London’s Brick Lane is one of Europe’s most distinctive and valuable pieces of real estate but it was not created by a property developer and there has barely been an architect near it.
He notes how, across the world, there are many of these former city-centre industrial sites. These places grew slowly and organically with very little investment and as creative vision replaced master-planning, collaborative effort replaced investment and risk-sharing replaced risk-taking. In Brick Lane the owners have stayed absolutely true to their vision, maintaining a creative approach to the ongoing development of the site that has kept it unique and ever-changing – no chains or large brands. These places show that serendipity is better than master-planning; that long term investment (not just financial) is crucial to the development of great places; that creativity and ideas drive everything; that throwing money at a problem won’t always solve it and, most importantly, that good places are about the people who together to make them with a shared purpose and a share in their eventual success.
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