How we are reimagining Bradford for the future - Kieran Thompson

It is my belief that to fully understand a place you should immerse yourself there amongst the people, sounds and buildings.
Big change is coming to BradfordBig change is coming to Bradford
Big change is coming to Bradford

Over many years, I’ve done exactly that in Bradford developing a real love for the city, its architecture, its problems, and its potential. As a trainee architect I can see the beauty of Bradford’s streetscapes, but also the wasted opportunities and disjointed redevelopment.

This week Bradford submitted its official intention to bid for UK City of Culture 2025 and stated outright that it is putting its people at the very heart of shaping its campaign from the start. I believe the same should be done for its redevelopment; it must be people led. Bradford has a series of major developments in the pipeline, but many locals are unaware of them, and there just isn’t an opportunity at the right time for them to meaningfully engage in influencing major projects within the city.

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I joined the Bradford Civic Society four years ago and I have seen the fantastic work the society does acting as a ‘bridge’ between the community and the council and developers, adding value to projects by challenging plans, offering informed feedback and addressing what is needed by the people who live and work in the city.

But planners and developers must go that step further. As we look to increase the number of people living in the city centre, it is important to question what design and infrastructure is required to build a long-term community. We should question ownership models, development to public realm ratios, why so many people moved out of cities during the last year and how our cities transform to become vibrant and child friendly?

To try and address these issues head on, in May 2020 I reached out to Laura Sanderson, leader of the Continuity in Architecture (CIA) Atelier at Manchester School of Architecture, my old university, with an idea. Why don’t we get their architecture students to ‘reimagine’ Bradford’s ‘top of town’ area? I chose this area very specifically as it has huge potential – it’s home to many of the city’s most historic buildings and has been the focus of major regeneration plans over the last few years.

However, despite receiving £2m in Heritage Lottery Funding for its redevelopment in 2018 and being included in Bradford Council’s 10-year vision to create a vibrant ‘City Village’ of around 1,000 new homes, projects have been slow off the ground.

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I applied for funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund to commission CIA to bring their work together at the end of the year to act as a benchmark for high- quality architectural proposals for the city. The funding was approved, setting a new precedent as the first time the fund has awarded money for a concept design-only project.

Over the last year, more than 70 students have been working remotely from their homes around the globe to explore regeneration opportunities for this important heritage area.

The work has culminated in ‘Bradford Reimagined’ – a new exhibition at Bradford 2025’s cultural hub at City Park until August 13. It features more than 250 architectural drawings which bring to life some innovative ideas – from creating new communal gardens and public squares to repurposing heritage buildings as co-working spaces and creating residential developments which include co-housing and multi-generational living spaces.

I hope that visitors are inspired by the projects on display; they are specifically designed for Bradford and the people of the city. They are deliberately challenging and ambitious and I hope that they will help everyone love their city a little bit more, expect more from it, and maybe this collection of thought-provoking and creative proposals will help to generate a bright new future for Bradford.

Bradford Reimagined has set the bar, let’s not fall short.

Kieran Thompson works for IBI Group and is a member of Bradford Civic Society

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