Futurescape London by Chatham House

Futurescape London is a 3D digital model that takes visitors on a journey to explore the future of our city centres, using Piccadilly Circus in London’s West End as its location. Created by the London-based think tank, Chatham House to mark its 100 year anniversary, the Futurescape experience is intended to stimulate debate about the future of our cities and societies over the next century.

Against the backdrop of city centres emptied out by the COVID 19 pandemic and the growing urgency for urban hubs to support more sustainable lifestyles, Futurescape aims to encourage conversations about the changes people want to see in their towns and cities. Visitors to the exhibit will be encouraged to provide their views on the trends affecting their home towns and cities.

Your journey is guided by three generations of a local family cross four time periods. The model depicts a positive image of the future, with an urban environment that has adapted to climate change and works in harmony with nature; a better food system, a sustainable economy and consumption habits; a focus on wellbeing and community in city centres; and technology designed for humanity.

Developed with agency Platform Group and the School of International Futures, Futurescape London was created over the course of 2020, following consultation with a group of scientists, architects, designers, sustainability experts and trend analysts interested in building more positive urban futures. Chatham House’s network of experts developed Futurescape to imagine how London’s West End could be the site for the group’s ideas, seeding the site with information points providing context for the model’s speculations.

Futurescape is a product of the Chatham House SNF CoLab, a ten-year initiative to expand discussion and thinking on global issues through creative and immersive outputs and experiences.

Details of the program are likely to change in accordance with the latest COVID-19 health measures.