October 23, 2025 News
Smithfield Public Realm · London, United Kingdom
Reclaiming the 'field': a 24-hour cultural destination in the heart of London
Map of London by Ralph Agas, c. 1561, Wellcome Collection Archive
A legacy of layers
Smithfield’s story begins as a field outside the Roman city walls, later evolving alongside the city’s growth to host priories, the meat trade, industry, and more recently a working commercial district. These layers have manifested in the built fabric of the area, demonstrating multiple, fragmented, and often overlapping histories.
Our narrative-based heritage approach preserves, reinterprets and reveals key elements such as the market façades, Rotunda ramp, medieval urban fabric or underground structures, while reviving lost stories through spatial design and future cultural programming, engaging diverse audiences in Smithfield’s evolving identity.
Climate resilience as a design driver
Smithfield’s transformation is grounded in climate resilience. The project responds directly to the City of London’s Climate Action strategy, embedding adaptive design into every element of the public realm.
Green infrastructure is central to our design, with additional tree canopies providing shade and reducing heat stress. A sustainable urban drainage network manages surface water, improving permeability and reducing flood risk. Layered planting supports biodiversity and the creation of microhabitats across the site.
Existing materials, such as granite sets and Yorkstone, are carefully retained or repurposed, reducing environmental impact while preserving local character. New materials are chosen for low embodied carbon and high albedo.
Overall, we aim to contribute to a more resilient cityscape that improves public comfort while enriching the sensory and ecological value of the public realm.
Current situation
Streets for people
Dominated by car traffic and service vehicles, the area is being redefined as a network of streets where walking, cycling and public life take precedence. Guided by the Healthy Streets approach, we reduce through-traffic and on-street parking, maximise car-free areas, expand footways and improve cycle infrastructure to create a permeable, people-first environment.
Our design supports a slower pace of life and makes space for cultural encounters, greenery and moments of pause.
Civic spaces for a 24-hour city
Smithfield’s unique circadian rhythm, from night traders to early commuters, is amplified. We create adaptable public spaces that support cultural events, informal gatherings, and daily life across all hours. New urban rooms, terraced landscapes, and spill-out zones invite informal gatherings, performances, and play throughout the day and night. Street furniture and raised planters provide both comfort and spatial structure, while key surfaces are designed to host temporary cultural events and markets.
The ever-changing civic and cultural activity is celebrated through the flexibility of Smithfield’s streets and spaces, aiming to reflect its social and spatial legacy as the ‘Field’.
On regular days, Smithfield could still accommodate a range of informal cultural activities
Small-scale events and performances can be
accommodated in spaces such as the North Field, which
can allow for the continuation for everyday uses in parallel to performances
Medium-scale events can also be hosted, while maintaining the southern end of
the Rotunda for everyday use
A district-wide festival would see all of the key spaces along the Culture Spine occupied with cultural activity
