We believe meaningful places are those that are ‘valuable’, where value has a broader definition than profit. Value defines a project’s positive impact – on the surrounding place, the surrounding city, and the people in that city.
At MurrayTwohig, we have developed our own guiding principles that describe how we believe we should behave if we are to create meaningful places. These six principles are set out below.
Through Vision Comes Victory
It is critical in the creation of successful places to have a clear vision and then to deliver it with absolute confidence, making sure that every single thing you do delivers on that vision. This will align creative teams; it will simplify decision making; it will streamline the narrative; and it will make a project sell, lease or proceed more quickly.
Values Create Value
If you create a place that is beneficial, that contributes to its surroundings, that considers its impact, that is considerate of people and their needs, that is responsible – then you will make a place that people love. If it is loved, it will be successful.
Beyond the Proforma
This requires a different way of thinking about when value is created. It is important to invest in place earlier, in order to capture a later return. This means investing in engagement, in activity and placemaking even before the place is complete. It means recognising that value rises over time, and that sometimes patience is key to recognising success.
Development is Placemaking
Placemaking is a term which is commonly used, but rarely understood. For us, if as a developer, you aren’t placemaking, then you are just making buildings, and that is not how successful projects are made. Placemaking means recognising that every aspect of place – experience, real estate, masterplanning, architecture, branding, marketing and activation – is a key consideration at every step of the process, from conception to realisation.
Uncertainty is Opportunity
In a period of great uncertainty, it is easy to try and solve every problem upfront – but it is in the grey areas, in the areas of uncertainty, where the greatest opportunities can come. In those gaps, great creativity can deliver new discoveries, new experiences and new opportunities that couldn’t have been conceived previously.
Diversity in Thought and Experience
This new paradigm requires skills and voices not traditionally seen in real estate. We need to listen to the users of our places – women, children, the elderly, minorities – if we are to understand what they truly need. We should enlist the help of curators, artists, performers, psychologists, innovators, writers and any other diverse disciplines if we want to make places that are varied, exciting, vibrant and valuable.