Art Park, Meanwhile Use Project – Harrow Town Centre
From a Small Spark of Imagination to a Regeneration Project
It all started with a flickering curiosity. An inkling that something was missing from the bigger picture. Then came the first sketch in my notebook, a clarifying thought as I tried to pinpoint exactly what I was feeling. Gradually, it became clear what that missing piece was. That was all it took to set in motion what happened next. Two years on, I still can’t quite believe the project actually happened. In steel, glass and timber, it now stands proudly before me as a completed scheme.
Perhaps it’s best to go back to the beginning. In 2023, I was working at Harrow Council, exploring the potential to develop a Supplementary Planning Document for the Town Centre. While I was there, I was also asked to get involved in reallocating £7.5 million from the Future High Streets Fund, specifically towards improvements in Harrow Town Centre. The funding had already been secured from the government, but came with strict deadlines and tight criteria on how it could be spent.
At the time, we weren’t exactly sure what to use the money for. That’s when my architectural and urban design instincts kicked in. I began thinking holistically about how improvements to the public realm could enhance the lives of residents and visitors in Harrow Town Centre. I developed several project ideas that aligned with the government’s funding requirements. One of these was a meanwhile use project: repurposing part of a council-owned car park.
My thought process was simple but strategic. I saw a potential connection linking Harrow Town Centre to Harrow and Wealdstone in the north of the borough. This connection followed the High Street, passed the soon-to-be-restored Art Deco Safari Cinema, continued through the future regeneration of the Civic Centre, and led towards Harrow and Wealdstone Station and Byron Park beyond.
However, the closure of the Debenhams store in Harrow left a gap, both physically and symbolically, within this chain. Without that link, the journey through the town didn’t make much sense anymore. The cognitive mapping principles I’d once learned from Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City no longer seemed to apply. There was no clear sense of direction, no logic to how one might navigate through the centre.
My analysis led to one conclusion. The northern end of the town centre needed a new attractor. Something to re-establish the connection towards the north of the borough. And the only logical location for that was this car park.
That realisation set things in motion. I began to consider what we could actually do within the car park space and how we could make it feasible within the government's criteria. I imagined using part of the site to create something temporary. Something that could, if needed, revert back to its original use. There was something quite beautiful, even romantic, about the idea of an ephemeral development. One that could help to heal the urban fabric, spark regeneration, and then quietly disappear once its purpose had been fulfilled.
To test the idea, I did a very preliminary sketch over an Ordnance Survey map. I was trying to understand the potential size, scale and impact of a development in that space. That sketch was never intended to become reality, but it marked the beginning of something. An idea of what the space could be, how it would relate to its surroundings, and how it might function in context.
After a couple of iterations, I remember sending an email to Emily Berwyn, Director of Meanwhile Space, to open an initial conversation. I wanted to explore whether a meanwhile space project was viable, both operationally and financially.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The grand opening was a memorable occasion. I reunited with the team from Harrow Council who helped make the project a reality. I especially want to mention the brilliant collaborators at Jan Kattein Architects and Meanwhile Space. We worked closely, sharing ideas and expertise to bring this vision to life.
I don’t for a moment claim to be the key figure who made this happen. But I’m still in awe of the butterfly effect. How a small spark, a simple and logical (to me, at least) idea, grew into what I now see in front of me. Once a few people believed in the concept, it snowballed into something much bigger, with people putting their energy, creativity and commitment into delivering it.
What I saw at the grand opening wasn’t the conclusion of my small contribution. It was just the beginning of a new chapter for this part of town. It’s a space that will now write its own story, full of potential and promise. With the right guardianship, which I believe is in place, it could grow into something truly meaningful for the neighbourhood. It might even steer the long-term future of this corner of Harrow in a completely new direction.
I look forward to seeing that future unfold and to walking alongside it in some small way. A part of me will always be proud to say, “Well, it all started with a humble sketch I once drew.”