Sayer Street, London, UK

Sayer Street is an exciting meanwhile public realm lighting scheme designed for Lendlease at Elephant Park. A contemporary reinterpretation of the modern high street it forms part of the wider urban regeneration in Elephant & Castle.

Lendlease appointed B|D Landscape Architects, Jan Kattein Architects and Michael Grubb Studio in December 2018 with the unusual challenge to design half a high street on a strip of land, only 4m wide and 100m long. The design was to encompass all that represents the social life of some of London’s best loved public spaces. The project complements a carefully curated food and beverage offer that recently opened on the opposite retail parade.

The design for the meanwhile use for Sayer Street Central stemmed from a desire to create a street that has a unique sense of place and authenticity within the local community, whilst providing an opportunity for activation and discovery throughout the day and at night.

A playful and vibrant ‘jungle’ planting palette, full of tall palms, leafy grasses and winding climbers creates an immersive experience; a green oasis against the urban jungle backdrop.

The lighting announces Sayer Street, defining it as an attractive destination, as well as providing lighting on a human scale to envelop people in a warm surrounding light.  A space for activity in the evenings and darker winter months with the lights turned on early, before sunset, to carry that ambience on into the evening.

The lighting was designed to help activate the area and create calm, inviting spaces which are also safe and attract activity before the other areas of Elephant Park are completed.  The lighting makes a huge impact at night and creates a buzz with eateries that provide relaxing, open-air spaces to allow for social distancing.

Linear LED’s help to define the entrance to Sayer Street’s, alongside the illuminated signage, laid out diagonally throughout the structure to help create a rhythm.  They compliment the scaffoldings’ architectural form and provide new light and ambience after sunset.

Belisha beacons, ordinarily seen marking zebra crossings, provide innovative globes of light at a high level, creating attractive markers along the street that support wayfinding.  The street lighting is designed to be built onto the scaffoldings’ architectural structure and uses Urbis’ handrail luminaire with great success.  It’s an original approach that creates an aesthetic from something which would otherwise be used as a generic street lighting luminaire.

The interior maker space and planting shop were designed to conceal the temporary hoarding behind whilst a large building is being constructed.  The lighting within creates unique, very warm inviting spaces using 2700K.