Steer is delighted to announce that the Paddington Partnership has selected ‘See Paddington’, the firm’s joint submission with Jedco Product Design and supported by Poet in the City, as the successful entry to their Call for Submissions to address severance, and create a thread of common identity in the Paddington area to help reveal and draw visitors to the Grand Union Canalside and its amenities.
Steer and Jedco’s winning concept is simple and effective. More than conventional wayfinding or placemaking, See Paddington graphically integrates locally inspired stories, poetry and art within the urban fabric to create a coherent sense of place, revealing Paddington’s hidden assets and identifying key gateways to the canalside.
A series of perforated steel panels, with patterns and stories derived from Paddington’s heritage, culture, people and nature create a narrative trail linking the gateways to the canal. The panels play with light and shadow and respond to passing movement – offering an immersive experience to both entice and engage with visitors. In partnership with Poet in the City, poets Jo Bell and Sophie Herxheimer have been commissioned to create unique and personal local narratives that will help guide people through the area.
Kay Buxton, Chief Executive of The Paddington Partnership said:
“We were delighted with the scale and quality of responses we received to the Paddington Connections open call. From independent artists to master-planning practices, the judges were blown away by the insight and innovation shown by the 23 submissions. Steer and Jedco are a perfect fit for what we are trying to achieve at Paddington; a robust wayfinding pedigree coupled with a thorough appreciation of Paddington’s rich heritage, to create an area-wide narrative-led gateway and breadcrumb strategy. With the arrival of Crossrail in 2020/2021 we have an opportunity to press reset – to create new thresholds, reveal our hidden assets, showcase our waterspace and present a new Paddington. We’ve received tremendous support from Westminster City Council and local stakeholders to get this far, we’re now taking the next steps and entering discussions on the detailed design.”
To create a narrative that will resonate with Paddington’s residents, workers and visitors alike, poets Jo and Sophie will be conversing with local individuals and groups in order to translate their stories into poetic phrases that are applied to the products within the scheme. The trail is centred on three key themes:
Transport weaves through all these themes in celebration of Paddington’s significant role in the past, present and future of transport. From movement of goods on the Grand Union and Regent’s Canal, through to Brunel’s iconic terminus, London’s first bus ride, the first Underground journey, the arrival of the dedicated Heathrow Express to the pending arrival of the new Elizabeth Line. As one of London’s most connected locations, the excitement and adventure of setting off on a journey from, or arriving at Paddington Station continues to the current day.
“It’s great to work on a design that people will interact with and that tells a unique and personal story of Paddington, this is a really exciting project to win.”
Emily Whiteside, Lead Graphic Designer, Steer
See Paddington will be a celebration of Paddington’s heritage, people and culture and tell a unique story, with the aspiration to create a lasting legacy that will continue to animate the place and bring people together.
The project is underway with an expected launch date in Spring/Summer 2020.
Jedco and Steer have a long-standing relationship and collaborative approach from working on projects both in the UK and Canada.
Over 25 years Jedco has produced many award-winning product designs for transit authorities, airports and suppliers of public facing equipment. Jedco aid their clients to navigate the complex nature of many urban design initiatives with project management services to ensure a smooth progression from design to commissioning.
Poet in the City brings poetry to the people and the people to poetry. We help places and people tell their stories, create access to hard ideas, attract radically new audiences, bring about social and behavioural change, and create awe-inspiring large-scale entertainment.
The Paddington Partnership works with local partners, stakeholders and companies to ensure that London's fastest-growing and most dynamic location meets the needs of business, visitors and the local community – today and in the future.
As one of London's Opportunity Areas, Paddington continues to be the largest area of growth within the City of Westminster and is already home to major national and global headquarters.
Multiple schemes provided by different developers and development vehicles have created over 2.2 million sq ft of prime office space, with a further 1.3 million sq ft in the pipeline. New homes have already passed 1,500, with another 1,000 in the pipeline.
Some of the UK’s biggest names make up the Partnership, with British Land, Derwent London, Tishman Speyer, European Land, CC Land and Yard Nine collaborating to ensure Paddington retains its competitive edge.
Jo Bell is an award-winning poet working across the UK. A performer, playwright and producer, Jo is the former director of National Poetry Day. Previously an industrial archaeologist specialising in industrial remains like mines, railways and canals, Jo lives on a narrowboat and is the 2013-15 Canal Laureate of the UK, appointed by the Poetry Society and Canal and River Trust. Her 2015 poetry collection Kith contains many of the poems written during this time. She has read at venues including the Houses of Parliament and Glastonbury Festival. Her poetry can also be seen on a lock in Milnsbridge as part of the Locklines project.
Sophie Herxheimer is an artist and a poet. She’s held residencies for LIFT, Museum of Liverpool, The Migration Museum and Transport for London. Exhibitions include Tate Modern and The National Portrait Gallery. Her work includes creating a 300-metre tablecloth to run the length of Southwark Bridge, featuring hand-printed food stories from a thousand Londoners and narrating an episode of The Food Programme from Margate. An ongoing project is collecting stories live in ink from members of the public by listening and drawing. Recent publications include The Listening Forest and The New Concrete and her latest collection is 60 Lovers to Make and Do, with Henningham Family Press.
Get our latest news and opinions
Yes, you are in the right place. After 40 years, we have changed our name from Steer Davies Gleave to mark our growing international footprint and our expanding portfolio into markets beyond transportation.
Explore our new website to learn more about Steer: who we are, how we work and what our future holds.