David Reay, Development Director of Stanhope, summarises NLA’s recent Innovation Summit, which covered a range of themes, notably the importance of diversity in the innovation district.

The NLA’s recent Innovation Summit covered a plethora of interesting themes this year, most notably the importance of diversity in innovation districts.  

 

I introduced my own section by speaking about Bletchley Park – one of the UK’s first (and arguably most successful) ‘innovation districts’. Considered the birthplace of modern computing and home of the WWII codebreakers, at its peak, 12,000 people worked there. Bletchley Park was chosen for its position halfway between the educational hubs of Oxford and Cambridge and on a main trainline into London. It became a melting pot for ideas, in large part due to a recruitment technique focussed on cognitive diversity. 

 

Looking to our North American neighbours, Elie Gamburg, Design Principal at KPF, pointed to Lower Manhattan and Silicon Valley as hotspots for innovation which emerged in the 80s and 90s – a result of experimental sub-cultures and the coalescence of people from different backgrounds to discuss new and unusual ideas. It’s clear that for innovative ideas to come to fruition, it’s necessary to have a diversity of perspectives on life. 

 

As real estate professionals, we can help facilitate innovation by creating inspiring places that link institutions and people with diverse perspectives and skills. Good placemaking enables good ideas to thrive. It’s not enough to just think about the buildings: time and energy needs to be spent on creating impactful public spaces and amenities. These are the places where spontaneous interaction and collaboration are fostered. Furthermore, innovation districts need to be welcoming and inclusive to the wider neighbourhood in which they reside. This includes local communities who can often feel alienated from the large tech campuses. 

 

So how are we putting all this into practice and how is this playing out? At White City Place, Stanhope has established a new creative and life sciences quarter where life sciences companies and cultural institutions sit side by side. Its success is a result of a combination of over 1m sq ft of flexible workspace, new public realm, shops, restaurants and cafés and its neighbouring educational establishments – Imperial College and the Royal College of Art. Our social value initiatives have also helped strengthen connections between people from different organisations and with the local community, for example enabling work experience placements and an educational outreach programme. 

 

Cross-pollination between Imperial College and the Royal College of Art has meant startup companies have come into fruition from collaborations between these institutions - illustrating how art and science (and the diverse people who study these subjects) come together to spark innovation. These start-ups can also draw inspiration from the growing organisations and big brands at White City Place – L’Oreal and Net-a-Porter for instance. 

 

Stratford was highlighted as another good example of a successful innovation district merging science with culture – the V&A, BBC and UCL are all set to move or have recently moved there and it’s now a well know hub of creativity. Coming a full circle from Bletchley Park, the British Library extension – a project in the pipeline for Stanhope, set in the King’s Cross Knowledge Quarter – is set to offer a new home for Alan Turing Institute as well as lab and cultural space. 

 

The key takeaway from the NLA’s Innovation Summit is that it’s vital to avoid a monoculture if we want to spark new ideas and creativity. As developers, we need to make every effort to encourage diversity and ensure that the emerging innovation districts of today are welcoming and inspiring for all who work there as well as the surrounding communities.