The site says: The Smithfield area is undergoing a huge amount of change with:
Farringdon set to become one of the busiest stations in the UK when this section of the Elizabeth Line opens;
The Museum of London relocating to various buildings to the west of the current meat market; and
The growth of the City of London’s Culture Mile as a home for contemporary culture in the ancient heart of London’s working capital.
We have appointed architects Studio Egret West to explore the potential future of the current meat market buildings, and they are working alongside Hawkins\Brown and the Museum of London on a unified vision for the further transformation of Smithfield.
Studio Egret West are responsible for developing initial concept designs for Smithfield market to create a sustainable and accessible place of beauty and opportunity for all Londoners, the focus of this engagement.
Hawkins\Brown are developing proposals for exceptional new public spaces across the whole Smithfield area, running from Farringdon Street to Aldersgate. There will be a separate engagement process for this work in due course. More on the public realm can be found here.
Smithfield market will sit alongside the new Museum of London, located in a collection of largely derelict market buildings to West end of Smithfield. The new museum will reimagine what a museum for London could and should be, attracting 2m visitors a year and capable of hosting a broader range of blockbuster exhibitions and displays the project will breathe new life into the buildings and secure their long-term future.
Led by award winning design team Stanton Williams and Asif Khan with Julian Harrap, the designs will blend the historic fabric of the buildings and world-class contemporary design, catapulting the Museum of London into one of the capitals top 10 visitor attractions.
Below is a video that we have prepared to present the concept designs to you. More background information can be found in the text below and you can learn more by spending time looking at our separate pages on the design principles, possible interventions, uses and public realm.
The City of London Corporation ran this initial engagement exercise over a five-week period between the 31st of July and the 4th of September 2020. The engagement was open to all stakeholders and the general public. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all engagement material was shared online via the City of London’s’ market relocation website https://wholesalemarkets.co.uk/smithfield/ and stakeholders were able to leave their feedback using the website. Those without access to the internet were sent a paper copy of the consultation material as well as a feedback form in the post. The engagement was advertised via a flyer delivered to over 7,000 addresses in the area surrounding Smithfield which asked people to visit the project website to learn more. A press release was also issued to advertise the consultation, receiving media coverage from outlets such as the Architects’ Journal.
A total of 62 people responded to the feedback form. 60 responses were received via the City of London Citizen’s Space consultation portal with 2 responses received directly via letter .
Overall feedback was very positive with respondents welcoming the design principles and interventions.
• Nearly half of the respondents raised how the building will be used as the greatest challenge to overcome to transform Smithfield into a place for all Londoners. Comments highlighted:
– The need for an‘independent feel’ with opportunities for small businesses and retailers.
– People also felt that the building should be multipurpose with uses for all Londoners including an offer for residents, communities and people who are less likely to access cultural infrastructure.
• Conservation was people’s highest priority for the transformation of the market closely followed by how the building would be used.
• The majority of responses to the question‘what opportunities if any have we missed?’ related to how the building will be used, mostly highlighting opportunities for cultural uses.
• Though comments were largely positive and supportive there were some topics that were more negative including:
• The need to minimise disturbance to local residents, particularly sensitively managing any 24-hour activity and associated noise.
Wholesale Markets site
Public engagement