Free Lunchtime Model Talks 2021 - Script

NLA’s giant interactive model of central London brings the story of London’s historical and physical
development to life. Free lunchtime talks give visitors the opportunity to learn firsthand about
London’s newest architecture and development.
Model talks take place every Friday at 12:30.

SCRIPT
- Please use the below script to shape the structure of your New London Model talk.
- Start by asking the group who they are, if they are architects, developers or otherwise involved in city
making and adjust your language accordingly.
- It is good to ask nationality also as you may need to explain things in more detail for international visitors.
- Try to monitor the audience reaction during the talk and adjust the tone and level of detail as needed.
- Make sure to reference recent or upcoming NLA events and Research Papers during the talk - e.g. London
Design Capital, Resilient Cities, Local London and On Locations/Conferences.
- Watch Peter’s Model Talk video on youtube for some extra inspiration!

INTRO
- Hello and welcome everyone here to New London Architecture
- I’m…. and my role at NLA is…
- Today I’m going to give you an introduction to the New London Model, talk through how London
has come to look the way it does and talk you through some of the key new architecture and
development projects that we can see here in the city.

NLA
- For those of you who are first time visitors to NLA, we are London’s leading architecture centre,
focused on debate and discussion about the future shape of London – anything from the provision of
new well-designed housing, to major infrastructure and transport investments.
- We bring together professionals, politicians and the public to share information about new
architecture and development in London, and discuss what we need to do to shape a better city.
- We run a busy programme of over 150 events a year, curate public exhibitions, run research
programmes, the largest architecture festival in the world every June and we host our own Awards
which celebrate the best new projects in London.

MODEL
- The New London Model has been the centrepiece of our galleries since we were first established
15 years ago. This version of the model was built 5 years ago to cover an even wider area of London
and here at Coal Drops Yard we have been able to exhibition our new Wembley extension for the
first time in the UK.
- First just to orientate you:
You are currently just here
The model extends North to King’s Cross
East to the Royal Docks
South to Peckham
And West to Wembley
- As you can see here, the model covers only the central area of London. The entire Greater
London area expands far beyond the boundaries of the model.
- In total, it shows 240,000 buildings across a roughly 200km2 area, all mapped accurately using
OS data from 2012, and produced at a scale of 1:2000.
- The grey buildings are already in existence prior to 2012, and the white buildings are either
recently completed, in construction or proposed with planning permission to go ahead.
- The model is updated 2-3 times per year, using data supplied to us by developers and architects.
- This is the only place you can come to physically see what London will look like in the future.
- The new white buildings have been 3D printed, which means we can be even more accurate and
detailed than ever before.
LONDON DEVELOPMENT
- London was established here by the Romans in 50AD in what we now call the City of London or
Square Mile, on a site north of the river chosen for its good soil and as a point to cross the river.
- The city grew as a major trading centre, with the Tower of London established in 1066.
- At the same time, the City of Westminster was being established to the west.
- For centuries Westminster and the City of London were geographically quite distinct and
separate.

- The City of London developed through the medieval period with narrow streets and timber
houses, which meant that when the Great Fire of 1666 came, it destroyed about 80% of the
buildings.
- After the fire, a series of proposals were put forward to rebuild the City in a new rational plan
around wide boulevards, but the merchants wanted to get back to business straight away, and so the
buildings were mostly rebuilt on the original medieval street pattern. And this street pattern still
forms the shape of this area today, which is now the City’s major commercial district.
- It was after this period that London’s population started to expand beyond the City walls. Farmlands
grew into villages, which slowly joined together to create a single city. You could say that London is
a collection of villages.

- Landowners started to develop Great Estates, largely in the West End – such as Grosvenor,
Howard de Walden, The Crown Estate and the Portman Estate. These areas tended to have a rather
consistent design and so have quite a recognisable character today, and are still owned and
managed by the same organisations today.
- This very much explains why London looks the way it does – not the result of a grand vision, but a
collection of individual villages and landownerships, stitched together to create a whole city.

- Over the Victorian era, London’s population had boomed to 6 million, not far off our 8.6 million
population today. Railways and tube stations enabled London to grow outwards, creating new
suburban districts which sit outside of this model.
- London Green Belt was first proposed in 1935 to curb this growth, and this still forms a boundary to
London’s development today.

LONDON TODAY
- Today, London is seeing significant population growth, with over 8.6 million people and a growing
population due to increased birth rates, people living longer, and people choosing to stay in the
capital. All of this creates challenges about where to accommodate this growth in a city
constrained by the Green Belt.
- The London Plan is the key document which sets the spatial strategy for London’s development, in
force since year 2000. The Plan sets out an ambition to concentrate new development in central
areas with good transport links, areas of intensification around existing town centres, and in
opportunity areas – and this forms much of the blueprint for where we see new development coming
forward today. It is good to note that each elected Mayor adapts the London Plan to their policies.
- Some of the key challenges that we have today are:
o the provision of housing – London should be delivering some 66,000 new homes each year,
but we are currently only delivering 25,000. Huge challenges in providing enough affordable
housing.
o affordable workspaces – as we focus on provision of housing, we are losing affordable
workspaces for small and medium sized businesses, including space for creative industries
o debate on tall buildings and density – as we can’t build out, we’re building up. NLA
Research shows over 500 tall buildings in the pipeline for London.
o transport – how to manage London’s streets and traffic, ensure investing in cleaner,
greener infrastructure and ‘active travel’ options - walking, cycling and public transport
o provision of schools and healthcare facilities. London needs significant numbers of new
school places, which are a challenge to build in a dense city

MAJOR AREAS OF REGENERATION

- Some of the key areas for development coming forward:
 o East - Olympic Park in Stratford, Isle of Dogs, Greenwich Peninsula, Royal Docks
o South - Canada Water, London Bridge, Waterloo, Elephant and Castle, Nine Elms
o West - Earls Court, White City, Old Oak Common, Wembley
o North - Paddington, Euston, King’s Cross
- These key Opportunity Areas are clearly visible on the model as concentrations of white buildings.
- Major areas of regeneration tend to occur where there is a combination of the following factors:
o Available land or building stock which is no longer fit-for-purpose
o Good existing or planned future transport links
o Opportunity to build at density and height without effecting protected views

TRANSPORT
- What brings much of this together is the investment in new transport infrastructure.

- Crossrail, The Elizabeth Line opening autumn 2021 is driving a wave of development across the
city. The line will run from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west, through central London,
through to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

- Plans in discussion for Crossrail 2, which would run from Enfield, Tottenham Hale and Dalston in
the east, through central London interchanging with The Elizabeth Line at Tottenham Court Road,
continuing to the south west to places like Wimbledon, Surbiton, Chessington and Epsom.

- HS2 is a planned high speed rail linking London and Birmingham to Manchester, the East Midlands
and Leeds. The line will have a major station at Old Oak Common interchanging with The Elizabeth
Line, and will terminate at Euston, interchanging there with the proposed Crossrail 2 line.

- Much debate on the river crossings and the need for creation of more low level river crossings to
the east of the city. On the model, we have added the proposed Rotherhithe Bridge, designed by
reForm Architects. This is the only project on the model which does not have full planning
permission, but has been added to spark some debate and conversation.

NEXT STEPS
- As these areas get built out, focus for much new development is moving out of the model area, and
to London’s zones 3-6, where there is lots of discussion about how we densify low density
suburban areas and make more of our existing transport hubs. NLA’s major research ‘London’s
Towns’ outlines development taking place in outer London, available online and from the café.

- Finally, you can also join us at our regular free talks, our walking tours and events, where we
explore these issues in more detail – you can find out more details online or sign up via our
newsletter.

- Explain briefly about the current exhibitions in the rest of the gallery.
- Mention briefly any upcoming public events, walks or family workshops.
- Mention that all NLA publications are available to purchase from the café.