Made it Together

📣 Announcing the Finalists! 📣 This is Not a Road: A community-led toolkit for Play, by @artformarchitects , @CivicandSocial @CW_Studio_ , @carolynwillitts , @Made.it.Together A community-led toolkit for adaptable play designs, building on Manchester’s radical tradition. For the next phase of the competition, the three finalist teams have received an honorarium of £5,000 and a free workshop with our creative partners @hayesdavidson , to develop their proposals for the next stage! The team said they are expecting to take the idea further through: 🎈 Partnering with a real residential street in Manchester to co-create a working prototype of the toolkit 🎈 Supporting residents to reimagine the space outside their own homes, through hands-on workshops 🎈 Artform will design adaptable street elements, Civic and Social will lead the community co-creation, CWS Studio will identify nature-led play interventions and Made it Together will plan and co-ordinate future governance 🎈 Together they will build a practical, tested toolkit rooted in real community act! The winner of the Davidson Prize 2026 will be announced at a live ceremony on 30 June 2026 at the Tramshed Building @Vitra Showroom in Shoreditch as part of the @LondonFestivalofArchitecture . The winner of the 2026 Davidson People’s Choice Prize, which this year received nearly 1,000 votes, will also be revealed on the night. Stay tuned to see the results of this exploration @thedavidsonprize Good luck to all three finalists!

Choose your favourite from the Davidson Prize longlist! Voting closes for the People’s Choice Prize on Tuesday 28th at 6pm. If you like our entry, please vote for us! See link in bio. This Is Not A Road centres around a community toolkit for play that gives agency to local residents and allows them to reimagine their streets, alleyways and forgotten spaces into playful opportunities that can be shared by all. Created in collaboration with @cw_studio_ @made.it.together and @civicandsocial . . . #davidsonprize #peoplesvote #playstreets #designforplay #manchester

🎯 A community-led toolkit for adaptable play designs, building on Manchester’s radical tradition. This is Not a Road: A community-led toolkit for Play, by @artformarchitects , @CivicandSocial @CW_Studio_ , @carolynwillitts , @Made.it.Together Vote for your favourite entry to win #TheDavidsonPrize People's Choice Prize via our link in bio! This proposal draws inspiration from Manchester’s 1979 playground protests: when communities of parents, activists and young people resisted the closure of their play spaces, and came together to say homes, streets and neighbourhoods should support play, not suppress it. This is Not a Road responds to that legacy by focusing on an ordinary residential street: the overlooked spaces that sit outside our homes. Instead of tucking play away behind railings, it becomes part of daily life as the street is used as a place for games, conversation and celebration. The proposal is to create a community-led toolkit: a document facilitated by a team of designers, to inspire and guide communities to build play opportunities into their streets that reflect their specific needs. It will feature adaptable designs for play installations, information on the materials and methods required to build them. It will be empowering rather than prescriptive, enabling streets to evolve organically through collective action. Cars will be deprioritised as residential street becomes safe, slower and sociable. Play is intergenerational and integrated: a shared community shed and makers’ yard foster reuse and mutual support: tools for fixing a door, timber for building a den, cake tins borrowed for a celebration. Rooted in Manchester’s radical history, but relevant nationally, the proposal reframes the street as social architecture: a shared space where every day play is designed in.

This is Not a Road, our submission to the The Davidson Prize 2026, has been longlisted 🎉🎉 Inspired by Manchester’s 1979 playground protests, the proposal reimagines an ordinary terraced street as a shared social space where play and community life are part of everyday living. Developed in collaboration with @artformarchitects , @cw_studio_ and @civicandsocial the project explores how a community-led toolkit of practical guidance, adaptable design ideas and collective action can help residents shape the streets they live on.

A good day for Plymouth. We’re proud to see this submission land as the government backs the city as a priority for future housing and regeneration support. The proposals will deliver 144 new homes alongside a new Blue and Green Skills Hub for City College Plymouth. It’s been a real privilege to support @plymouthcitycouncil on this project. Great to be working alongside @bdp_com and wider consultant team in getting the application submitted. Image credit: @bdp_com

We were at planning committee in Blackburn last week (for the second time in 2 months). 220 affordable homes approved in total. Both applications approved in 13 weeks. Thanks in large part to the hard work and dedication of the local planning authority officers involved. Looking to seeing these homes and wider estate improvements come forward soon.

Wonderful evening at the Royal Town Planning Institute NW annual dinner. We are delighted to have picked up a Commendation for Small Consultancy of the Year. Congratulations to all the award winners! #rtpiawards

We are delighted to welcome Madeleine McCoy to MIT! Madeleine joins us as a Planner, bringing her expertise and enthusiasm to our work. Her addition comes at an exciting time as we embark on some interesting new projects. Welcome, Madeleine!

Two firsts for us last Thursday A drop in consultation event alfresco ☀️ A site visit on escooters 🛴 Both highly recommended Phase 1 of Campbell Park North, Milton Keynes - 400 homes, a canal side bistro cafe, cycle routes and lovely green spaces. A great scheme designed by Howells for Urban Splash and Glenbrook.

We’re looking forward to UKREiiF in Leeds next month. Please get in touch if you’ll be there too and would like to catch up. #ukreiif2024

Fantastic turnout at the public consultation last week for the final phase of the existing residential blocks to be restored at Park Hill. It was great to see a diverse mix of people, including existing and prospective Park Hill residents, students, and local community members, sharing views and providing valuable feedback. This super scheme for Urban Splash is being designed by Mikhail Riches. #parkhillsheffield #estateregeneration #brutalistarchitecture