Night-time Design
At MAKE we pioneered the idea of ‘Design for the Night’ a decade ago. It came from a realisation that few architects, masterplanners and designers really understood how to design cities after dark. Often we are asked to ‘retrofit the night’ into plans created by leading urbanism firms because they still design places for the 9 to 5.
From lighting, secure design and an appropriate land use mix, through to managing pedestrian flows, transit hubs and public realm legibility… none of these are regularly given enough ‘after dark thought’ when plans are drafted. To rectify this we created the concept of ‘Design for the Night’, an approach that can be plugged into broader masterplans and placemekaing strategies or, in an ideal world, integrated from the outset. Below are some examples of how we’ve deployed Design for the Night for clients.
Liverpool City Council: City centre “design out crime” masterplan
Post- City of Culture, Liverpool was on a high. Yet it still needed to address crime in the night-time economy. We suggested that it create the most comprehensive night-time study and masterplan yet.
Oldham Council: Diversifying the Town Centre After Dark Strategy
Oldham was brave enough to admit it had a problem with its night-time economy. It asked MAKE to assess the challenges, find the positives and create a new after dark plan for a town centre that would be welcoming for all.
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council: Prestwich Night-time Economy Masterplan
Often masterplans don’t properly understand or plan for the value of the evening and night-time economy. MAKE was asked to address this knowledge gap.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government: Morpeth Night-time Economy Study
Market towns have night-time economies too! Morpeth asked us to create them a pocket sized NTE strategy but with all the trimmings.
London Legacy Development CorporatioN: Olympic Park Night-time Supplementary Planning Document
After a decade of encouraging local authorities to produce their own dedicated night-time planning documents, someone finally did it. Well done LLDC!
Preston City Council / Grosvenor Estates: City Centre Night-Time Strategy
Preston is arguably the UK’s most dynamic small city. Its university, arts and food scene are flourishing. Grosvenor Estates asked MAKE and our colleagues to create an after dark masterplan.
Stratford Regeneration Partnership: Stratford Olympic Legacy Night-Time Economy Study
In the shadow of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium, Stratford town centre missed out on much of the Olympic benefit. MAKE was asked to create a vision for how it could turn round its nightlife.
Lambeth Council: Evening & Night-Time Economy StrategY
Doing the Lambeth (nighttime) walk! We were asked by Lambeth to create a ‘multi-nodal’ night-time economic study and masterplan for its five town centres. It was the first of its kind.
West Lancashire District Council: Rural Towns Masterplan
MAKE were asked to provide an analysis of the borough’s rural economy and how this could be better supported to grow (in every sense).
London Borough of Bexley: Town Centre Regeneration and Night Time Masterplan
Bexleyheath has a few night-time economy gems but lacked coherence and a conducive physical environment to create a welcoming town centre after dark. We helped them out with our ‘design for the night’ approach.