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BREI hosts Van Alen Institute’s International Council

22 May 2019

The Bartlett Real Estate Institute hosted Van Alen Institute’s International Council during the group’s visit to London.

A group discussion takes place in a tiered small lecture theatre

Based in New York, the Van Alen Institute promotes excellence in urban design through advising cities, public programmes, organising design competitions and conducting cross-disciplinary research. The International Council identifies and investigates issues facing cities around the world and guides the impact of the Institute’s work.

During the three-day visit, entitled "Private means to public ends: the role of the private sector in city-making", the group focused on two projects where the private sector has had a pivotal role: the King’s Cross redevelopment and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Visiting the Bartlett Real Estate Institute at Here East on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the council heard BREI chair Prof Yolande Barnes outline the challenges to real estate and the built environment in the 21st century.

Social, technological and financial shifts are coming together to create a tsunami of change which, Prof Barnes said, requires a cross-disciplinary response.

“Here at the BREI we are actively silo-busting, encouraging cross-party talks because solutions to this tsunami have to be holistic and global,” she said.