Peckham Square: new design teams and a new home for local arts charity

1 June 2023

The future of Peckham Square is shaping up with exciting new updates from Southwark Council:

• A new design team, Graeme Massie Architects and Scott Whitby Studio, has been appointed by the council to develop designs for the next phase of the square’s transformation building on extensive community consultation recently undertaken on the design of the square
   
• Work is set to begin to refurbish 91-93 Peckham High Street which backs onto the square and is being designed by Peckham-based architects Knox Bhavan. The council has signed an agreement that this will be local arts charity Peckham Platform’s new home once complete
   
• Peckham library will reopen this summer following a full refurbishment inside with new layouts, new ventilation system, new furniture and new computers
   
• The council is working with The Hope Collective to draw up plans for an art memorial dedicated to Damilola Taylor in the square

The council is investing £6m into remodelling Peckham Square. It was the first project under Southwark Stands Together, the council’s borough-wide anti-racism initiative that started three years ago.

An initial design study was undertaken by Spheron Architects who were selected from a strong shortlist of emerging architects practices from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Their extensive groundwork and consultation with the community informed a phased approach to improving Peckham Square.

Graeme Massie Architects and Scott Whitby Studio will now be taking the project forward into a practical, implementation phase. Having worked on many public realm projects across the world, they will combine international expertise with local knowledge, particularly their project architect Osman Marfo-Gyasi who is a Peckham local.

The design team will develop detailed designs for the next phase of the project based on the views of local people and businesses gathered by Spheron. In parallel, a detailed survey into the condition of the Peckham arch has been undertaken and this will inform design options for this part of the square for the community to consider.

Improvements to Peckham Square will be enhanced by the council’s restoration of 91-93 Peckham High Street. Peckham-based architects Knox Bhavan have been appointed to design a new home for the well-respected and Arts Council-funded arts charity Peckham Platform, and a planning application for the scheme will be submitted this summer. Diversity and inclusion underpin this flank of Peckham Square. Peckham Platform will bring local communities together with local and leading artists working to co-produce art with the community. Black and minority ethnic backgrounds will be actively represented through Peckham Platform, local leaders, charities, and the architects Knox Bhavan.

Cllr Catherine Rose, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, leisure and parks, said: “The library square is the beating heart of Peckham, bringing local people together across all communities. That is why our approach has always been about putting our Southwark Stands Together values into practice. We are thrilled to be working with design teams who mirror these inclusive values with strong personal links to Peckham itself. The result will be spaces and buildings that meets local people’s needs while reflecting Peckham’s unique identity.”

Graeme Massie, founder of Graeme Massie Architects, said: “We are delighted to be selected as part of the team which will deliver these much needed improvements to Peckham Square. Our work will build upon the work and consultation undertaken to date to develop proposals which are truly inclusive and reflective of the diversity within the Peckham community. As the only significant public space within Peckham, we understand the importance of the Square to local residents and businesses. Peckham Square should act as a focal point for the community, with a rich tapestry of uses and activities - a place with a local identity which everyone should be able to enjoy.”

Osman Marfo-Gyasi, associate at Scott Whitby Studio, said: “As someone who has grown up in and lived within the vicinity of Peckham Square, being part of the selected team to further the work of others to deliver a sustainable world-class piece of public realm means so much to me and the studio. We are committed to working with the local community and the many stakeholders that will need to respond to our team’s designs to create a space that continues to reflect the diversity and cultural richness of Peckham. For me personally, it is also an important opportunity to give something back.”

Sasha Bhavan of Knox Bhavan, said: “Having lived and worked a stone’s throw from Peckham Square for thirty years, we are particularly excited to be part of this next stage in its life. To be part of such an important project right on our doorstep, bringing opportunity and delight to our local community is a responsibility we take very seriously.

“Our experience is that strong engagement and collaboration makes for well-designed and responsive buildings. Working closely with Southwark Council and Peckham Platform, we are looking forward to delivering a building and programme to inspire and bring accessible creative arts to the people of Peckham.”

Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, artistic director of Peckham Platform, said: “Peckham Platform is absolutely delighted to be returning to our base on Peckham Square. Over the last decade and a half we have been a part of Peckham’s unique cultural ecology formed of community embedded artists, creators, thinkers and doers. As a cultural organisation with a civic duty, we are a charity that connects art, people and place, and this is exemplified through our track record of delivering high quality, ambitious community led and co-designed social art programmes that have impacted the cultural sector locally and internationally. Through the restoration and sharing of this multi-purpose arts and cultural building, we work to continue the legacies of those who over generations have activated the square and the rye. We look forward to expanding and developing the important creative work we do with children, young people and communities in Peckham.”

Public consultation on both the square’s public space and 91-93 Peckham High Street is expected to start in the summer.

Page last updated: 05 June 2023