Residents living on the St Raphael’s Estate, which straddles Neasden and Stonebridge, have helped appoint Karakusevic Carson Architects to develop options for the future of their estate.
More than 70 residents attended an event where they interviewed two practices bidding for the work. Their opinions on the architects’ past experience, and how they would work with the community, were used to make the final decision to hire Karakusevic Carson.
Residents noted Karakusevic Carson personalised approach to answering their questions, the impressive projects they had previously completed and their desire to work with local young people.
Karakusevic Carson are currently working with 12 London Boroughs and have previously worked with the council on the award-winning redevelopment of South Kilburn.
Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing & Welfare Reform, said: “We committed to making sure that development of options for the future of St Raphael’s would be community-led. The process to appoint Karakusevic Carson is an example of this in action. We’re excited about continuing to work with residents, local businesses and community groups this summer, as we continue the process towards developing the best possible options for St Raphael’s.”
Paul Karakusevic, Partner at Karakusevic Carson, said: “We are really pleased to have been appointed to work with Brent Council and residents of the St Raphael’s Estate to develop designs for the future of their estate. Meeting the residents during the competition process was incredibly important to us as a way to start building a long term relationship with the community. We have been working closely with residents on estate projects across London for the past 18 years and we see this as an integral part of designing and delivering the highest quality of social and truly affordable housing.”
Karakusevic Carson, together with the team from the council, will now begin the process of working with the community to develop options for the future of the estate.
As part of the project, Karakusevic Carson will offer local young people work experience and paid training opportunities – including employing an aspiring local photographer and creating a youth action group.
