Braund Mansions has been defined by a deep and continuous commitment to community engagement, spanning over a decade and involving over 200 community events in the last 10 years. From the initial community ballot to design development, residents have been central to shaping the masterplan. Engagement methods have been diverse, including public exhibitions, design workshops, tailored 1-1 meetings, and regular communication through regeneration newsletters, website updates, and HTML flyers distributed to local youth groups, ensuring broad reach, including hard-to-reach groups. This commitment ensures the regeneration reflects local needs and aspirations.
In addition, we have held several long-running initiatives, including the co-design of a temporary play space and hoarding art, the Wandsworth Arts Festival window installation and a competition to design a show flat in the new building.
We collaborated with pupils from Falconbrook School to design a meanwhile play space just outside Braund Mansions. The project began with an engagement session in which pupils were invited to draw their ideas for floor-based games. Proposals included a scooter track, dance zone, running track, ‘floor is lava’ game, chess board, maze, and workout circuit, among others. These ideas were developed into clean, colourful graphics, using a limited colour palette to establish a strong and cohesive place identity.
The wider project also encompassed safety signage, lighting, and creative hoarding. This hoarding design specifically highlighted the young designers of the meanwhile play space while also celebrating the future residents of the area. It features a series of framed self-portraits, serving as a celebration of the young voices we have collaborated with over the years and giving them a visible presence within the evolving site.
The play space was launched on the final day of the school term on 2025, allowing pupils to enjoy and play in a space they had helped to create. The resulting play space is now enjoyed by children living in Braund Mansions as well as other local kids, providing a safe and engaging environment for all ages.
The show flat competition came as a direct result of Post Occupancy Evaluation at Mitchell House. Residents explained that moving into new homes without having the opportunity to view them first was unsettling in the context of being rehoused. We aimed to alleviate this disruption through the engagement project whilst also offering a portfolio building mentorship programme which would help local young people with aspirational employment.
Wandsworth Council and HTA Design, launched a design competition for young people to design and deliver a show flat in Mitchell House for residents who were to move into Braund Mansions.
The competition was structured as a live project enabling participants to gain real world experience in designing and pitching their interior design proposals for the flat. The participants had to respond to the set brief and produce a design based on their ideas to a restricted budget. The physical outcome of this project, Braund Mansion’s show flat, was used by the council throughout the rehousing process. It has been seen by incoming community as an exemplar of what can be achieved on their rehousing budget as well as showcasing the talent of Winstanley Estate and York Road’s local young people.
The competition winner, Ricky Le, and runner up Norah Dankwah have both received prize money and both been offered work experience placements at HTA. Both finalists are Battersea locals and Ricky has recently started a degree at the University of Bath. Norah is studying architecture at Central St Martins College of Art and Design with a focus on interior design.
