Architecture
Be First
Be First is the regeneration company wholly owned by Barking and Dagenham Council, delivering new homes, jobs and public spaces across the borough.
Overview
Inside the practice.
Key facts about the practice, its work and working life.
- Regions
- UK - England - Greater London
- Sectors
- MasterplanningResidential (Affordable Housing)RetrofitUrban Design
Flagship projects
Work worth spending time with.
One project is selected for this profile.
Industria
London's first new-generation multi-storey ramped industrial scheme, providing 45 units and more than 100,000 sq ft in Barking.
About
About Be First.
Be First is a regeneration company wholly owned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, operating independently to accelerate growth across the borough. It works as a developer in its own right, as a development manager for the council and commercial partners, and delivers town and country planning and other statutory functions on behalf of the local authority.
At the heart of Be First is an in-house design and sustainability team that works from the earliest stages of a project right through to handover. The team writes strategic briefs, prepares master plans, design codes and supplementary planning documents, and provides client-side design guidance, commissioning and procuring architects and reviewing schemes through to completion. As the team describes it, the work runs from the door handle to the master plan.
Projects span new neighbourhoods, council estate renewal, affordable housing, retrofit and innovative employment space across Barking and Dagenham, including work on the Becontree Estate, Gascoigne West and the Industria stacked-industrial scheme. The team also pilots digital twins and building-performance monitoring to test how completed homes actually perform in use.
This profile accompanies Be First's appearance on the Architecture Social Podcast, where Head of Design Jacob Willson and Associate Director Amandeep Kalra discussed winning work in the public sector, procurement, fees and building an in-house design team.
People & conversations
Follow the connections.
2 people · 1 podcast episode
Podcast · Episode
How to Win Projects in the Public Sector, ft. Be First London
Dive deep with us as Jacob Willson and Amandeep Kalra from Be First open up about the transformative power of architecture and urban design in Barking and Dagenham. Their mission? To collaborate with communities in creating thriving, sustainable neighborhoods through top-notch housing, energy efficiency, and public spaces everyone can take pride in. With a mix of architecture, urban design, landscape, and sustainability expertise, they're not just designing buildings; they're crafting the future
Contact
Find out more.
- Website
- befirst.london ↗
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