Finsbury Park

client: Islington Council, Hackney Council & Haringey Council, budget: £500k, with Office S&M, contractor: Cuttle Construction, supported: Mayor of London

–

Finsbury Park has long been defined by its role as an intersection, where key transport routes and borough boundaries converge. Bisected by the major thoroughfare of Seven Sisters Road, a number of lively pockets of retail activity coexist. However, the overall character of the town centre remained fragmented and confused.

–

Successful town centres balance the diversity of individual businesses with a measure of cohesion and a strong local identity. Working in close partnership with Islington, Hackney and Haringey Councils, JKA and Office S&M implemented a coordinated tri-borough shop front improvement programme, realising works to 30 businesses across the Finsbury Park area.

–

Thanks to this cooperative approach, JKA were able to work across political boundaries to consider the town centre foremost as a social and spatial environment. Building on existing communication networks between traders and local authorities, we targeted businesses which:

– sit at key intersections and approaches within the town centre
– are visually prominent
– offer unusual, even unique goods and services

–

In collaboration with urban practice Office S&M, we worked closely with each individual business to offer a customised programme of support and investment. The result is a suite of interventions, ranging in scale from the transformative to the intimate, which work together to catalyse the emergence of characterful and resilient high streets.

–

download project brochure