- Futurecity is proud to announce the first project from the placemaking strategy for East Village, commissioned by Get Living.
- Award-winning pioneer of responsible design is working with neighbourhood operator Get Living to design and produce ‘The Lab E20,’ a space for culture, community and experimentation launching this summer.
- The Lab E20 will become East Village’s flagship for community led co-creation, with a focus on positive fashion, climate action and the circular economy.
- The space will deliver ‘PREVIEW’, a six-month programme of events and experiences with cultural partners including the British Fashion Council
30 JUNE 2021 – Get Living has appointed Christopher Raeburn, founder of RÆBURN and Global Creative Director of Timberland, to design and produce a new creative hub at its East Village neighbourhood for the local E20 community, Newham and the wider London creative sector.
The Lab E20 will be the demonstrator space for the PREVIEW programme developed by Futurecity and supported by Get Living. Programme partners alongside the Institute of Positive Fashion and RÆBURN include architectural and sustainable design practice D-Lab; Loanhood, an East London start-up fashion rental platform; The Sustainable Angle, the UK’s leading resource for sourcing sustainable materials, and global activist and maker platform Fashion Open Studio (Fashion Revolution).
Yasmin Jones-Henry, Senior Strategist, Futurecity said: It has been an absolute privilege to witness this project unfold. When we first presented the concept of introducing positive fashion and Christopher Raeburn to East Village exactly a year ago, with these recommended programme partners, Get Living embraced the vision and they have been a brilliant champion of using cultural innovation and creative enterprise to further develop their long-term strategic goals.”
The 3,500sq ft double-heighted space on the ground floor of Victory Plaza will be influenced by RÆBURN’s design philosophy of: RÆMADE, RÆDUCED, RÆCYCLED and will form the backdrop to ‘PREVIEW’, a six-month programme of exhibitions, installations, workshops and events. The programme will see East Village host cultural organisations, creative and social enterprises working together to deliver a more sustainable, diverse and accessible pipeline for the future of London’s creative economy.
Supported by Get Living, partners planning to come into the space include the British Fashion Council’s Institute of Positive Fashion, helping establish East Village as the gateway to London’s Innovation District, East Bank, and the Fashion District. Caroline Rush CBE, CEO of the British Fashion Council adds: “East Village will be the intersection where creative experimentation and social value combine.”
PREVIEW Programme 2021
RÆBURN will be kicking off the PREVIEW programme, taking over The Lab E20 from July. Local residents, students and visitors can get involved in a series of installations, panel discussions, film screenings as well as design and repair workshops classes for all ages.
Christopher Raeburn, Creative Director of RÆBURN comments: “Myself and the team are immensely proud to unveil this project alongside the fantastic individuals behind Get Living, Futurecity and East Village. Since the formation of RÆBURN on Fish Island, Hackney Wick back in 2009 we’ve always been about innovation, inspiration and collaboration, and The Lab E20 has allowed us to truly bring those values to scale; resulting in a meaningful space for all creative thinkers, alongside a provocation to the industry to reconsider our approach to material use and the merits of waste. We’re all excited to kick off our host of community events and witness the rewards of this special location.”
Ailish Christian-West, Director of Real Estate at Get Living says: “Our vision is for East Village to become a stage where meaningful things are created, offering visitors and members of the community the opportunity to experience and see things being made, to learn about the products and the design, before buying them.”
Rick de Blaby, CEO Get Living, says: “Our cultural strategy by Futurecity will position us at the epicentre of a new innovation district for London, with connections to the creative energy of the new East Bank (consisting the new Victoria & Albert Museum, University of Arts London and Sadlers Wells) cultural quarter and the London College of Fashion.
The Preview Programme will help us to provide residents with purposeful and sustainable living and a genuine sense of belonging and provide opportunities for residents, local communities and local creative industries. Ideas for new art, installations, cultural events, exhibitions, pop-up performances and cultural partnerships are already manifesting themselves.
The creative cluster will also focus on sustainable fashion, delivered through a set of spaces designed to help people and businesses reach their potential in the fashion industry and investment in original cultural production and presentation.”
Open to the public this July on East Park Walk, The Lab E20 will bring together emerging, local and global innovators in fashion, tech and design to share their principles of sustainable living with the local community.
A full programme of partner events will be listed at getliving.com.
About Raeburn
RÆBURN is an award-winning British fashion label, established in 2009, with its multidisciplinary studio the RÆBURN Lab in the heart of East London. Their RÆMADE ethos in particular has pioneered the reworking of surplus fabrics and artefacts into distinctive and functional garments and accessories. This unusual balance of high concept, accessibility, and collaboration has brought responsible design to a mainstream fashion audience, presenting a new definition of luxury with integrity.
About Get Living
Get Living has changed the way the UK rents and lives in brilliant big city neighbourhoods.
The largest operator in the UK’s Build to Rent sector, Get Living is best known for East Village E20, the former London 2012 Athletes’ Village and currently operates close to 3,000 homes across London and Manchester. Get Living was recently named BTR Innovator of the Year at the 2020 EG Awards.
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