🏆 Celebrating Success at The Pineapples: the Barbican Podium Wins Big
A Landmark Recognition for a Landmark Project
We’re delighted to share that the Barbican Podium project in the City of London has been named winner of the ‘Future Public Realm’ category at the 2025 Pineapples Awards.
The awards recognise projects that take a prosocial and pro-environmental approach to place-making — and this win represents a significant achievement for a site as iconic and complex as the Barbican.
Comm Comm UK is proud to have delivered the community consultation for the planning application stage of this transformative scheme and will soon be embarking on construction comms.
A Vision for Inclusive, Evidence-Based Urban Space
Led by the City of London Corporation, the Barbican Podium project was developed in partnership with AtkinsRéalis, Nigel Dunnett, Lord Consulting Ltd, Comm Comm UK, and Stace. The design puts community use, accessibility, and sustainability at the heart of a bold reimagining of the Barbican’s public realm.
The Pineapples judges commended the project for its "compelling transformation of public space," praising its inclusive vision of a 24/7 urban park that opens up the space to broader communities beyond its immediate boundaries.
They highlighted:
A strong retrofit approach that maximises existing infrastructure.
A well-articulated and coherent community strategy.
The project’s evidence-based design process, informed by extensive data and local input.
Comm Comm UK’s work focused on ensuring local voices were heard, understood, and effectively represented — particularly in relation to long-standing concerns around accessibility and anti-social behaviour in the area.
Our Role in the Process
As community consultation specialists, we were appointed to:
Coordinate inclusive outreach to a wide range of stakeholders, community groups and residents.
Facilitate conversations between the City Corporation, design teams, and the public.
Capture key insights and priorities through meetings and public feedback - especially challenging during covid restrictions.
Help refine the application to reflect the needs and ambitions of the community.
Our approach balanced transparency with clarity, helping build understanding of a complex project within a diverse and sometimes sceptical audience.
Why This Win Matters
Public realm projects can shape the everyday lives of thousands of people — and at Comm Comm UK, we believe the best ones are built on trust, transparency, and real dialogue.
The Barbican Podium win is not just a design victory; it’s recognition of the value of engaged, well-evidenced community input. It also sets a benchmark for future public space projects in London and beyond.
We extend our congratulations to all our collaborators, especially the City of London Corporation, and the project team at:
@AtkinsRéalis
@Nigel Dunnett
@Lord Consulting Ltd
@Stace
Looking Ahead
While we didn’t attend The Pineapples award party ourselves, we were thrilled to hear the news from our client. We're proud to have played a role in shaping what promises to be a landmark development in London’s public realm.
Projects like this are a powerful reminder that great places are made through collaboration, creativity, and community.