London, 2016-Aug-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land has today announced a new design partnership with the Royal College of Art, the world’s number one university for Art and Design. The three-year initiative will challenge students to find creative solutions to development opportunities across British Land’s portfolio.
Innovative and inspired design is integral to British Land’s vision to create Places People Prefer. The company has a long history of commitment to future generations through a range of initiatives with local communities. This programme has been designed to further develop young designers as well as help up and coming talent to access opportunities in the property industry.
MA Architecture students studying at the Royal College of Art will take part in The ‘Live Project Architecture Programme’, a competition to create a design proposal in response to a brief from British Land. Launching in October, the first of the series of initiatives will follow the winning concept through to installation.
The winning design will play an important role in British Land’s approach to creating places where people want to work, shop and live. The company welcomes the perspective the design talent of the future can bring whether through original ideas, new ways of working or a wider diversity of thought.
British Land CEO, Chris Grigg, comments: “Great design is key to our ambition to create Places People Prefer. British Land has long recognised the importance of encouraging designers and architects of the future and has worked closely with community partners to support numerous local initiatives. Our partnership with the Royal College of Art demonstrates our continued commitment to investing in future generations of creative talent who can bring inspiring and engaging designs to our properties making a positive impact today and in the future.”
Adrian Friend, Senior Tutor, Architecture at the Royal College of Art, comments: “British Land has a long history of supporting future generations of designers and architects – they provide a fine example of the benefits that these partnerships can bring. Our students benefit from the opportunity to realize live projects particularly as this is an area in which emerging technologies and ideas are formed and realized. British Land’s position as a globally recognized company, with local knowledge and expertise in architecture, engineering and design will be invaluable to our students.”
British Land is an active patron of the arts and design world and has worked closely with local community partners to get a wide range of people interested in the role art and design plays in the broader environment. The company has run a series of successful initiatives and programmes with partner organisations including Creative Curriculum, Sculpture in the City, Construction Youth Trust and Pathway to Property.
Further details on British Land’s and the Royal College of Art’s Live Project Architecture Programme will be announced in October when the brief is presented to the students.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About British Land
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London offices. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed of £19.7 billion (of which British Land share is £14.4 billion), as valued at 30 September 2015. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start-ups. Our objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people’s everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to finance these places effectively.
UK Retail assets account for 51% of our portfolio. As the UK’s largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising around 22 million sq ft of retail space across shopping parks, superstores, shopping centres, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.
Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 49% of our portfolio is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our Offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.5 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).
We were awarded the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s highest accolade for business success, for our continued economic, social and environmental achievements over five years. Our industry leading sustainability strategy is a powerful tool to deliver lasting value for all our stakeholders. By supporting communities, improving environments and growing economies, we create Places People Prefer and enhance long-term returns.Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com.
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About the Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is the world’s leading university of art and design, placed at Number One in the 2015 and 2016 QS World University Rankings. Specialising in teaching and research, the RCA offers the degrees of MA, MRes, MPhil, and PhD across the disciplines of applied art, fine art, design, communications and humanities. There are over 1,500 Master’s and doctoral students and more than 1,000 professionals interacting with them – including scholars, art and design practitioners, along with specialists, advisers and distinguished visitors.
Press Contact:
Pip Wood
British Land
020 7467 2838
Anita Gryson
LUCHFORD APM
020 7631 1000
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- British Land announces new design partnership with the Royal College of Art
Source: British Land