Public Realm and Placemaking
The spaces between buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
Our public realm comprises the spaces we inhabit when we move around our cities and neighbourhoods; parks, playgrounds, piazzas and pavements; side streets and the small left-over places in between everything else. These spaces are critical for successful placemaking, imbuing the built environment with identity, and character, and offering spaces which can support and nurture the cultural and public life of its inhabitants.
We work with local authorities as well as developers, community groups and commissioning bodies, helping them to develop places that are popular, practical and inspiring to spend time in.
Our public realm work ranges from large urban squares and settings to coastal interventions; from rural footpaths and coastal walks to designs for seating, signage and wayfinding, sculptures, monuments and urban markers.
Sometimes the aim is to get people to spend more time in a place, or to put somewhere obscure back on the map. Sometimes it is about encouraging exploration and a desire to try new routes or discover new places. Or to help communities reinvigorate under-used assets and overlooked spaces.
Our approach combines a rich mix of strategy, materiality and colour to develop public realm designs that are distinctive and characterful.
![Charles Holland Architects — The Fair Field](https://charleshollandarchitects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FAIRFIELD-INTRO.webp)
The Fair Field
A welcoming, multi-purpose urban square
![Charles Holland Architects — Monumenta Romana](https://charleshollandarchitects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MONUMENTA-ROMANA-INTRO.webp)
Monumenta Romana
A new rural landmark
![Charles Holland Architects — Tooley Street](https://charleshollandarchitects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TOOLEY-STREET-FINAL-scaled.webp)
Tooley Street
A new urban landmark
![Charles Holland Architects — I’m Looking Out For You](https://charleshollandarchitects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IM-LOOKING-OUT-FOR-YOU-HERO.webp)
I’m Looking Out For You
A temporary lighthouse on Dover Harbour