How Architecture can stimulate local area improvements

As architects and designers, Inclume are actively engaged in working towards a more attractive physical environment and public realm. The buildings that surround us can play a large part in the attractiveness of an area, and we believe that even small architectural interventions can help transform communities, especially when combined with other improvements such as reducing congestion, creating more opportunities for sustainable travel and encouraging a wide range of independent businesses.

Several areas of Cambridge have been altered on a large scale over the past decade, including Trumpington, Eddington and the areas around Addenbrookes Hospital and Cambridge Station, through a mixture of new housing, office buildings, community facilities and retail units. These areas have been transformed through building work, and while some have been more architecturally successful than others, all have brought investment and new people, helping contribute to vibrant local communities.

Alongside architectural alterations, cities can be improved through other physical interventions. These include ‘urban greening’ and artistic installations, sometimes funded through Section 106 agreements. When approaching a new project, we find it is useful to consider how the brief can be best answered, including adaptive reuse, a new building, an urban intervention or other creative solution. Architecture is about creating enjoyable spaces as much as it is about constructing physical buildings. Local community groups can play a role in enacting change in cities through social and policy suggestions, instigating campaigns that bring funding and political support.

Projects to improve our built environment come in all shapes and sizes. On a much larger scale, the government intends to build an ‘Oxford-Cambridge Arc’, including completing the rail link between the two cities, which will revive the historic Varsity Railway that once ‘joined’ them. This investment in housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure should introduce renewed interest in how architecture and construction projects can inject excitement and growth into cities like Cambridge, helping to future proof them for the next era of local area improvements.

Inclume enjoy the interface between architecture, art, installations and how design can positively impact communities. A selection of our diverse range of projects can be found here.

Feel free to get in touch with us to see how we can assist with your project, whether it is a physical installation, a new-build community centre, or a feasibility study for how architectural interventions can help transform a local area.