LDN Collective

📣 New Podcast Alert! We are excited to be launching the latest episode of #CollectivelySpeaking, where CEO Max Farrell sits down with leading industry, government and academic figures to discuss the big issues in the built environment 🙌 In this episode, we delve deep into healthy city design with Jeremy Myerson. Jeremy is an author, academic, founder of The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Director of the WORKTECH Academy and Chair of the Healthy City Design Congress. 🎙️ Listen on Spotify 👉https://lnkd.in/emKFVXUc 🎙️ Or Buzzsprout 👉https://lnkd.in/eY8A-zYj 💡 How can we make cities less polluted...from the air we breathe to the light that shines? 🚲 What are 'hybrid cities' and how can they reanimate the suburbs? 🍃How can we make cities greener...from green lanes to linear forests? 🔹What can we learn from places like Stockton-on-Tees and Seoul? 👩⚕️What happens when a Doctor becomes a Mayor? {Step forwards Mayor Dr Nik Johnson!} We can't wait for the Healthy City Design Congress in Liverpool on 15th & 16th October, where we will be hearing keynotes from the World Health Organization, former NHS CEO Lord Nigel Crisp, Impact Investing Institute, Liverpool City Council, Impact on Urban Health. If you do miss it, you can watch the film You See Media are making afterwards! 🍿 🎟️ Register here 👉https://lnkd.in/eWzrz97v #builtenvironment #podcasts #wearecitymakers #healthycities #healthycitydesign SALUS Global Knowledge Exchange | Royal College of Art | Legal & General | Oxford Properties Group | Quality of Life Foundation | Climatise | Ellandi | Prior + Partners | UrbanHealth360 | Cities & Health | Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) | TRUUD (Tackling Root causes upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development) | Muse | Phoenix Sustainable Investments | Sidara | AESG | Considerate Constructors Scheme | Martha Schwartz | The Academy of Urbanism (AoU) | Tim Ashwin Consulting Limited | Concept Culture | Wild Streets

Today marks an important day for all of us at Therme Group. Here is an exciting announcement from our CEO, Robert Hanea: We are proud to announce the acquisition of Therme Erding, the world’s largest wellbeing destination. With this transaction, Therme Group is set to surpass 3.5 million annual visitors to its portfolio of wellbeing destinations. Supported by a €320 million funding package arranged by Deutsche Bank and secured from Macquarie Capital of Macquarie Group —one of the largest single-asset financings in the industry, in collaboration with BF.direkt AG, Alantra, K&L Gates, Rödl & Partner, PwC, and Slaughter and May. This transformative milestone establishes Therme Group as the world’s largest wellbeing infrastructure platform, uniting our roles as a global developer and owner-operator with a growing portfolio of destinations. With 1.9 million visitors expected in 2024, Therme Erding exemplifies the scale and impact of our vision. From destinations like Therme Bucharest, the world’s first LEED Platinum-certified wellbeing infrastructure, to upcoming projects in Manchester, Frankfurt, Toronto, and the U.S., we are shaping the future of wellbeing through cutting-edge technology, awe-inspiring architecture, and sustainable innovation. This acquisition builds on a long-standing relationship with the Wund family, whose vision shaped the legacy of Therme Erding. Together, we share a commitment to making inclusive and accessible wellbeing experiences that foster community, revitalization, and connection. In a time when urban centers face growing challenges—from limited access to nature to the pressures of modern life—Therme Group is pioneering a new type of social infrastructure that redefines how cities can prioritize physical, social, and mental wellbeing. By breaking away from the exclusivity of traditional wellness, we aim to make urban wellbeing accessible to all. I am deeply grateful to the Wund family for their trust, to Macquarie Capital for their partnership, and to our exceptional team for their dedication. Together, we are shaping the future of wellbeing.   Read more in our full press release: https://lnkd.in/gCff-jUE

🌟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

If you were asked to picture a new town in England, what comes to mind?  Some of the better-known settlements established in the mid-20th century may well feature – Milton Keynes and its roundabouts, perhaps Stevenage with its pedestrianised town centre or further north, Runcorn on the southern shore of the River Mersey. In the week that the Government’s call for evidence seeking sites for new towns comes to a close, today BusinessLDN has published ‘The case for a new town in London’. Written in partnership with Arup, DP9 Limited, Kanda Consulting, Volterra Partners LLP and Zack Simons of Landmark Chambers, the report sets out why the Government should put London at the heart of its plans to develop new towns. Much has changed since the last wave of post-war new towns were formed and while London wasn’t part of that process the capital is well positioned to move quickly to establish the framework to deliver a new town and play its part in boosting both housing and economic growth. A huge thanks to Kathryn Firth, Craig Tabb, Karen Alcock, Toby Varian, Ellie Evans and Zack Simons for co-authoring this pleasingly concise report. Do check it out and let me know what you think – click below to read or access via a link in the comments. Think new towns, think London! #newtowns #housinginlondon

💭 Reflecting on 2024 in the built environment  What defined your 2024? Was it using AI in your workflow for the first time or diving into the new social platform Bluesky? For many in the built environment, 2024 was a transformative year filled with challenges, opportunities, and innovations. In Concept Culture's latest blog, we reflect on 2024’s milestones across 6 key themes: ⚫ AI takes centre stage ⚫ The rise and fall of social media platforms  ⚫ Short-form video is here to stay ⚫ Podcasts are on the rise (SPOILER: Concept Culture's new podcast coming soon!) ⚫ Places and pop culture blend to attract audiences  ⚫ Community engagement - the heart of inclusive and sustainable placemaking  Swipe right for a sneak peek of these themes.  For a deeper dive, check out the blog (link in comments). Let me know below what moments defined your 2024.   #builtenvironment #reflections #storytelling #placemaking #conceptculture

Looking forward to presenting my latest collaborative urban greening initiatives and their unique role in the scale up of UK wide climate adaptation. ECF Landscape Institute LDN Collective Chris Brown Michael Eggleton Luke Power Southwark Council Bankside Open Spaces Trust Jane Findlay FLI PPLI Sue Morgan FRSA Tim Gill Alister Scott Julia Thrift Andy Slaney Samantha McClary Churchill Fellowship UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)

Podcast Festive Special 🎙️🎅🎄 For the 5th episode in the second series of LDN Collective podcasts tackling the big issues in the built environment, we decided to LEAP outside our comfort zone! 🚀 🤖 Recorded live at a recent event exploring the impact of technology and AI on community engagement, we started with an open mic session where 50 attendees had the opportunity to share their stories. 📚 This was followed by presentations from pioneers like ECF, Commonplace, Digital Urban, Hello Lamp Post, Concept Culture and Grosvenor. We finished with a lively panel discussion and there was a LOT of food for thought. 🎧 You can listen on Spotify here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3MFbP5J 🌱…or Buzzsprout here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9wjRYnk 📗Read the report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMhYmBDu ✒️...and blog here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6x6HfKx Special thanks to Lawrence Barraclough of You See Media who is always pushing the boundaries and raising the bar 💪 Hopefully see you at our next event in the New Year, likely to focus on community engagement and regional planning (but we are open to suggestions!). Our January podcast will be on Net Zero Neighbourhoods with Hannah Jewkes 🎉 #CollectivelySpeaking #WeAreCityMakers #Podcast #AI #CommunityEngagement

🎉 Exciting Developments in Tech & AI for Community Engagement! 🎉 We recently returned to the Seven Dials Club for the second event in our series on the future of community engagement, focusing on the theme of technology and AI – exploring the good, the bad, and the ugly! Our CEO Max Farrell led the event, kicking off with an "open mic" session where 50 attendees shared their personal experiences with AI. This set the stage for a series of thought-provoking presentations from leading tech and community engagement experts including ECF, Commonplace, Concept Culture, Digital Urban & Hello Lamp Post ✨ The event culminated in a dynamic panel discussion on how technology and AI could shape the future of community engagement. Discover the insights and highlights from the event by reading the report powered by ECF here 👉 https://lnkd.in/exJAGhTk Plus, check out a blog by Concept Culture here 👉 https://lnkd.in/exkFS-yY Look out for a special edition of our podcast series, recorded at the event by You See Media, launching later this week 🎙️ Let's continue to explore and harness the power of tech and AI in building vibrant and connected communities! 🌐 #WeAreCityMakers #CollectivelySpeaking #UrbanRegeneration #Placemaking #CommunityEngagement #Technology #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #SmartCities

Hanging with the LDN Collective for last night's festive celebrations. Thanks so much to Max Farrell for yet another fantastic evening and huge congratulations for all the amazing things you have achieved this year! Bring on 2025!

I’m delighted to welcome Aaishwarya Anand to the Tim Ashwin Consulting team! Aaishwarya is an economic consultant and recent graduate in Economics, Banking and Finance from Cardiff University, who will be supporting the delivery of client projects over the next few months. Alongside wide-ranging academic studies that included welfare economics, commercial and market analysis, econometrics, financial asset portfolios and risk management, Aaishwarya gained extensive management experience through her industry placement at Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Welcome Aaishwarya – great to have you on the team!