Common Place – Martyn Evans


In our modern political landscape the vast majority of social need served by building property is being provided by private developers rather than a public sector that has largely washed its hands of the responsibility to deliver affordable homes and other community infrastructure. What are the unique possibilities and problematics that arise in the making of public places with private funds? Within this context, what is the future of civic space?

Ryan Neiheiser and Xristina Argyros teach Experimental Unit 15 which this year looks at the architecture of local political and public space. In addition they are co-directors of the design studio Neiheiser Argyros.

Martyn Evans spent 17 years with Cathedral Group, now U+I, including six years on the board before leaving to become the Development Director at the 1,200-acre Dartington Hall Estate in Devon in 2016. He returned to U+I in 2019 to deliver the creative strategy at the heart of our purpose-driven regeneration development portfolio. Martyn is Non Executive Chair of Croydon Council’s development company, Brick by Brick, a Non Executive Director of the online community engagement platform, Commonplace, Deputy Chair of the London Festival of Architecture and founder of The Young Architects and Developers Alliance (YADA). He has been a jury member of the AJ’s Small Projects, The Architect of the Year, the NLA and the Estates Gazette Awards, writes a regular column in DBOnline and contributes to the Estates Gazette.

source