The London Festival of Architecture and London Borough of Camden are pleased to announce the shortlist for the ‘Square’ Camden High Street design competition. As part of Camden’s trial pedestrianisation of the high street, this competition invited architects, designers, and artists to reimagine a key public space along the famous road.
Alongside the trial pedestrianisation, the Camden High Street Cultural Programme will run from May 2025 to April 2026, offering a seasonally driven series of events that respond to the community’s desire for activities that celebrate Camden’s rich history, grassroots culture, and diverse communities.
The judges felt that the final teams captured the essence of the area with their submissions, focussing on the needs of the locals, as well as visitors alike.
The shortlisted teams are:
Edgy Collective and LINDA
Bio: Edgy Collective, co-founded by Adrienne Lau, Daniella Levene, and Leila Taheri, is a multidisciplinary team that reimagines spaces with a deep commitment to place, community, and ecological consciousness. Blending design and communication expertise with public engagement and horticultural knowledge, their work spans rewilding installations, ecological community-building, food growing, and nature conservation.
Edgy Collective collaborates with Susanna Grant of LINDA, a leading garden designer and urban ecology consultant. Susanna specialises in biodiverse, habitat-rich urban gardens, placing plants and wildlife at the heart of her designs. Her approach champions nature-first principles and the creative reuse of materials to protect and enhance existing ecosystems.
“Having the chance to rediscover, reclaim, and reimagine a place we’ve known all our lives is something really special.”
Edgy Collective – @edgycollective, LINDA – @hellotherelinda, Adrienne Lau – @thinking_out_lau, Leila Taheri – @looloojaan
POoR Collective
Bio: Power Out of Restriction is a design practice that works with young people to create tangible outputs in their local environments. POoR sees the power of the younger generation and seeks to get young voices heard. We do this through design, programmes and engagement.
Being shortlisted for the Camden Square project reaffirms the value of our community-led design ethos and the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices in shaping public space. We hope that we can use this project as a platform for collective storytelling, and we’re proud to be part of that conversation.
RC/YYC x SoUP x Giorgia Scognamiglio x Rochester Square
Bio: As a multidisciplinary team, we combine architectural and place-making expertise with knowledge of place, artistic creativity and experience of working with young people.
Roy and Ya Ya lead RC/YYC, an architecture practice delivering community-focused projects with local authorities and community groups, and the London School of Architecture’s access and outreach campaign, Part 0.
Andrew Kwok is an architect at Vine Architecture Studio and co-founder of S.o.U.P, a collective of architects, designers and creatives establishd to explore different forms of community-led, participatory design.
Giorgia Scognamiglio is an architect and place-shaper with several years of experience across London local authorities. She leads regeneration and public realm projects that centre community voices and prioritise high-quality design and lasting, locally-driven change.
Rochester Square is a Camden-based organisation established in 2016, by artist Francesca Anfossi , offering a communal pottery space and gardens for artistic practice and community outreach projects. They are interested in the creative cycle – from the earth to plants to plates – and how this facilitates sharing knowledge through making.
We are always on the look out for the exciting public realm projects that LFA facilitate. We hope this will be an opportunity to bring our multi-disciplinary approach and knowledge of Camden to this project!
@rcyyc.projects, @roycoupland, @c._yaya, @soup.arch, @andrewkwok_125, @gio.scgn, @rochestersquareofficial
Sandwich Club x Ruth Campbell & Co
Bio: Sandwich Club is a multi-disciplinary design collective of landscape architects, architects, horticulturalists, spatial designers and community engagement specialists. Together we design meaningful community space which brings groups of people together and reconnects them to nature.
Sandwich Club looks to work across built-environment disciplines, from grass-roots movements to masterplanning, to ensure public realm design is worked on holistically with impactful community involvement.
Ruth Campbell & Co specialises in transforming urban external spaces, turning underused areas into valuable community assets. The practice’s inclusive, collaborative approach places people at the centre of design and delivery, working closely with community groups, councils and the private sector.
With a focus on wellbeing, mental health and the relationship between people and place, Ruth Campbell & Co’s designs are responsive, interactive, and tailored to diverse users.
As a team, SWC and RC&C align by placing people and communities at the heart of design, empowering them to help create beautiful, playful spaces that both enrich the natural environment and improve the lives of urban dwellers who may not have previously had access to these places or a voice in the decision-making process.
We are really excited to be shortlisted for the LFA ‘Square’ Camden High Street Competition this year. Camden High Street is such an interesting location to create a design for. With its layers of culture, business and community, we are looking forward to unlocking a design solution which brings Camden’s voices to the forefront of our design, whilst at the same time also introducing green space, access to nature and habitat creation to this busy urban centre.
Instagram:@sandwich_club_collective, @ruthcampbell.co
LinkedIn: The Sandwich Club, Ruth Campbell & Co
Saqqra & Rose Davey
Bio: Saqqra is a London-based architecture studio working towards a decarbonised future. Rose Davey is a Camden-based artist, writer, and director of Corner7, a project space created to “support and encapsulate creativity in Camden.” Both studios center local peoples, places, and cultures of making, creating environments reflective of the multiplicity of their inhabitants. Through our proposal we seek to explore meaning, memory and notions of co-authorship, allowing new material and cultural narratives to emerge. We are both interested in how decarbonisation efforts can become something more meaningful than carbon metrics alone. Corner7’s recent exhibition, Reclaimed, asks what happens when structural leftovers meet artistic intent, and whether the construction industry’s inherent waste production can be undone. Similarly, Saqqra believes that strategic efforts made to reduce climatic impact should also find architectural expression; where the chosen materials, construction and arrangement impart character towards a sense of place.
We’re excited to be shortlisted for the second stage of ‘Square’ and to engage with Camden High Street’s distinctive identity and heritage. With the recent pedestrianisation and the conclusion of an extended consultation period, this is a timely opportunity to explore co-authored public spaces. We look forward to building on the insights shared by residents, local businesses, and visitors, and exploring ideas for public spaces that are richer, more inclusive and varied; where people have greater agency to shape their own interpretations, meanings, and patterns of use.
@saqqra_, @rosedaveyartist, @corner7camden
Each 0f these teams will now have the opportunity to submit further proposals before a second round of judging, with the winners receiving a design budget of £12,500 as part of the total project budget of up to £100,000. Stay tuned for more information on the winner.
