London’s future open to debate

London’s street furniture and signage will be a high priority issue for a new range of debates about London’s future launched on Monday.

Designers of all disciplines are urged to attend the series, organised by the Architecture Foundation and London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

The seven monthly debates will start in January. They will be open to up to 700 members of the public. Speakers will include Sir Terence Conran, Sir Norman Foster and Sir Richard Rogers. Practical proposals resulting from this project will be submitted to the Government after July.

Architecture Foundation director Richard Burdett says that designers “must and should be involved – signage and street furniture make an enormous impact”.

The London First Centre, the agency set up to attract investment to the capital, has completed its design initiative and will unveil its marketing strategy in February. Mary Rogers and Associates, appointed in May to develop the centre’s marketing strategy on the basis of London’s design strengths, looked at the scope for promoting the city as the design capital of the world.