Concept Culture

🌟We are one of the Inspire Future Generations Awards 2024 finalists! 🌟 We are pleased to announce that we are finalists in the ‘Research - Pedagogy or Practice-Based’ category for our Neasden Town Centre Action Plan and Engagement & Co-Design report. This project was a true collaboration, with a fantastic design team led by Sanchez Benton Architects, Rumi Bose as Stakeholder Engagement Consultant, and Where Pathways Meet as Sustainability Consultants, and Concept Culture as Place Branding Consultants. The Inspire Future Generations Awards is one of TET (ThorntonEducationTrust)’s Awards and celebrates the importance of involving young people and children in shaping the built environment. We are honoured to be recognised for our work and engagement with the Neasden community, where we developed meaningful, phased, and actionable proposals rooted in stewardship, sustainability, and legacy. Big congratulations to all the nominees! Read more about the TET Awards on Thornton Education Trust’s website (link in comments). We are excited for the awards ceremony on January 13th, 2025. Will we see you there? Carlos Sanchez Dieguez Valerie Beirne FRSA FIPM Tanisha Raffiuddin Poppy Boadle #placemaking #IFGawards #IFGAwards2024 #communityengagement #builtenvironment #sustainability

🎧 Need new podcasts to add to your playlist in 2025? While producing our brand-new podcast Talking Place Podcast, we have been inspired by some incredible built-environment podcasts.  We highly recommend adding the below podcasts to your playlists:  🎙 The Developer Podcast by The Developer 🎙 The Urbanist by Monocle   🎙 AJ Climate Champions by Architects’ Journal  🎙 Collectively Speaking by LDN Collective  🎙 Talking Place by Concept Culture 🎙 Architects for Change podcast by Jay Morton  🎙 About Buildings + Cities by Luke Jones and George Gingell 🎙 The Brief by Open City  🎙 Design Emergency by Paola Antonelli & Alice Rawsthorn 🎙 ESG in Property Podcast by LifeProven ESG Property Company  Swipe for a sneak peek at what to expect.  Check out our blog for links and a full breakdown (link in comments). What are your go-to podcasts? Drop your recommendations below ⬇️ #builtenvironment #podcast #sustainability #realestate #placemaking #architecture

“You need people who have a place branding mindset to be sitting at the policy and planning tables who can help places.”  - Dr. Giannina Warren  In our latest conversation on Talking Place Podcast, we had the pleasure of diving into the world of place branding with place branding expert, Dr. Giannina Warren.  Together, we unpacked many fascinating topics surrounding place branding - including 🟣 why place branding is such a crucial, strategic tool  🟣 why it deserves a seat at the policy and planning table 👀 Curious to find out more? Listen to the episode now!  Link in comments ⬇️ #talkingplacepodcast #placemaking #storytelling #builtenvironment #placebranding

🎙️ Talking Place - First episode out now! We are excited to announce that Concept Culture's new Talking Place Podcast has just released its first episode!  In this episode, our Creative Director, Tanisha Raffiuddin, sits down with place branding expert Dr. Giannina Warren to discuss the importance of place branding and how good place branding has the ability to change places for the betterment of people who inhabit them. Giannina is an international thought leader in place branding and a former lecturer at Middlesex University London, where she created and launched the world’s first MA programme in place branding.    Giannina now works as a Senior Program Manager for the School of Communication & Design department at the prestigious RMIT University Vietnam. This episode is packed with valuable insights from one of the most respected voices in place branding. Tune in to hear about: 🟣 What is place branding, place marketing, and place promotion - and what are the differences between them? 🟣 Why place branding should be adopted at the planning and early development phase of a place. 🟣 What place branding practitioners should be looking at embedding when thinking about future places. Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts (link in comments). We'd like to thank our expert guest Giannina for sharing your time, energy, and valuable insights. #talkingplacepodcast #placemaking #storytelling #builtenvironment #placebranding

It’s National Storytelling Week in the UK 📓💭 Organised by the Society for Storytelling, this week 1-9 February celebrates the power of stories and inspires the next generation of storytellers.  This year’s theme, “Sharing Stories, Building Communities”, has us thinking about how we tell stories about places and the people who shape them. Whether the goal is to secure investment or attract visitors, the story of a place and its people, and how we tell that story matters.  To shape a compelling place story, asking the right questions is key. Here are a couple to start with: 1. What’s the history of this place? – Every location has a past that can shape its identity today. 2. Who are the people connected to this space? – Who has lived, worked, or visited here, and how have they interacted with the environment? 3. What emotions or memories does this place evoke? – How do people feel when they encounter this space? 4. What values or cultural narratives are embedded in this place? – What local traditions, stories, or symbols define this place? 5. How does this place connect with its surrounding environment? – What role does it play in its broader community or natural setting? Storytelling isn’t just about words – it’s about creating spaces where stories can live and evolve, and where people can feel part of something bigger than themselves. Let’s continue to create places that tell meaningful stories and bring people together. 🌍💬 Read more on how to shape a compelling story and enhance your place marketing in our blog (link in comments).  What makes a great place story to you?  Let us know below ⬇️ #builtenvironment #nationalstorytellingweek #placestories #storytelling

I am very excited to be a part of this very welcome new entrant into the space, and I am looking forward to learning from a fantastic round-up of experts! Honoured to be among them. Congratulations Concept Culture and Tanisha Raffiuddin

ANNOUNCEMENT 🎙️ We are thrilled to introduce Talking Place Podcast - a brand-new podcast! Talking Place is a podcast that brings together placemakers and storytellers to explore all aspects of ‘place’, with your host Tanisha Raffiuddin, our Creative Director at Concept Culture. The podcast will delve into how places, neighbourhoods, cities, regions, and nations can shape their identities and brands through the power of storytelling. Expect valuable insights into placemaking and place-branding strategies from our expert guests, plus tips on making places more memorable and impactful, and discover strategies along the way to inspire your projects and initiatives We are beyond excited for our first season, which will explore topics that shape the built environment including design, health, inclusion, finance, culture, language, community engagement, and many more. The first episode will be out soon, make sure you follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, and TikTok so you don't miss an update. A huge thanks goes to all our incredible guests for generously sharing their time, insights and expertise: Max Farrell  Dr. Giannina Warren  Frances Heeney  Jay Morton  Llinos Hughes  Philip Atkinson  Rumi Bose  Marsha Ramroop FRSA FIEDP  Clare Delmar  Palak Jhunjhunwala  Devorah Block PhD FRSA  Rosa Rogina We hope you enjoy listening to the podcast, as much as we have enjoyed producing it! Stay tuned! 🎧 📷: Tanisha is standing in front of a mural by Lelin Alves at Wynwood Walls, Miami. #builtenvironment #storytelling #placemaking #placebranding #talkingplacepodcast

Earlier this month, I presented our #Neasden Action Plan to Brent Council Cabinet, highlighting our community engagement work, and the key proposals that emerged from it. This was to support a paper seeking approval for £7.4m to fund our proposals for public realm, wayfinding, greening and reimagining the traffic-plagued gyratory. The decision was unanimously approved, and our work commended. “The best report that I have seen presented to Cabinet” said Cllr. Rubin, Cabinet member for Climate Change & Community Action. Along with last Summer’s Mayor of London’s #civicpartnershipprogramme award of £3.1m, this is an exciting moment for Neasden, enabling real change to be kickstarted - with £10.5m to fund 3 key projects with #authorship, #climateresilience and #publicrealm at their heart. In other news, we are thrilled that our strategy has been shortlisted for the Festival of Places Pineapple Awards 2025! Proud to have collaborated on this with Carlos Sanchez Dieguez Concept Culture and Where Pathways Meet. #neasden #placeshaping #placestrategy #codesign #communityengagement #highstreets #thorntoneducationtrust #pineapples2025

🏙️ The power of place branding and strategic storytelling  Looking to put your place on the map this year?  Whether you are working on a development that could transform the community, hoping to attract investors, or boost tourism, place branding should be at the top of your to-do list.  Place branding is all about telling the unique stories of your area, shaping perceptions, and creating a strong identity. When done right, it can attract visitors, businesses, and new residents, driving growth and creating a sense of pride and belonging.  Having a strong brand can:   ⚫ Increase investment and job opportunities ⚫ Boost tourism revenue ⚫ Build a stronger, more connected community ⚫ Improve quality of life for residents  If you are curious to know more about place branding, read our blog where we take a deeper dive into the power of place branding (link in comments).   Or get in touch with us directly to discuss your vision for 2025 with our team of place branding experts.  Is a place branding strategy a high priority for you? Let us know in the comments below ⬇️ #builtenvironment #placebranding #storytelling #marketing #branding

🌟🍍 We are shortlisted for The Pineapples Awards 2025!  Our Neasden Town Centre: Placemaking and Sustainability Action Plan has been shortlisted for The Pineapples 2025 Awards in the Strategy category. Organised by the The Developer and Festival of Place, The Pineapples Awards celebrates projects that make a positive impact on places, and we are honoured to have our work recognised.  We look forward to attending the Festival of Pineapples event from 25–27 February for the final judging alongside our fantastic collaborating partners: Sanchez Benton Architects, Rumi Bose, and Where Pathways Meet.  We truly enjoyed working on this project as Place Branding Consultants and are excited for what's next to come for the Neasden Town Centre and its local community. The Brent Council Cabinet approved a £10.5m investment last week into public realm, community programming, highways and environmental improvements to revitalise Neasden Town Centre. This investment will enable the Action Plan to move into the next phase of detailed design, planning and delivery of an ambitious programme over the next 4 years. More info about the Pineapples awards and judging event which is open to all - (link in comments).  Big congratulations to all the nominees!  Let’s keep driving forward place-based initiatives that make a real difference. #placemaking #thepineapples #placestrategy #builtenvironment #festivalofplace