Better places begin with bold imagination.
IF/ Design Labs is a think tank and design laboratory for places and their futures.
We work with communities, researchers, designers and organisations, combining research, learning, imagination and strategic design to explore how places work and what they could become.
About us
We are prototyping ways to understand places, expand collective imagination, and build people’s capacity to shape their futures.
We believe imagination is not a luxury, but a civic necessity. In a time of climate uncertainty, demographic change, and economic transition, the ability to think creatively about what’s possible is essential for shaping places where communities and nature can thrive.
Led by Thomas Bryans and Devorah Block, IF/ works at the intersection of research, design, and learning, bringing people together to understand the places we inhabit and explore possibilities for their futures.
Our interdisciplinary approach combines spatial practice and learning design, bringing knowledge and creativity together to deepen understanding and strengthen collective agency. We convene communities, organisations, and institutions to explore how places work and what they could become.
Whether informing design, developing capabilities, or shaping strategy, we bring research, imagination, and learning together to create the conditions for better places for everyone.
Our Approach
Inspire
We cultivate collective imagination to envision how places can thrive. Place Futuring helps communities and practitioners stretch their sense of possibility.
Empower
We build the skills to read, interpret, and engage with the world around us. Place Literacy is our foundation, fostering critical awareness and contextual understanding
Connect
We build relationships that turn ideas into impact. Our Labs are spaces for collaboration, bringing together diverse groups to address complex urban challenges.
Work with us
We welcome opportunities to work together — through commissioned projects, research collaborations, partnerships and the development of our Labs.
Whether you have a question about place, an idea you’d like to explore, or an interest in supporting our work, we’d be pleased to hear from you.
Our Labs
Our Labs are the research and development engines of IF/.
Each Lab brings together partners and publics around urgent urban questions. They are spaces for testing ideas, developing tools, and generating knowledge that can inform wider practice. The Labs move our work forward while inviting collaboration, experimentation, and shared learning.
Selected Projects
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Place is...
A Place Literacy workshop series in partnership with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation to support young people to understand and shape the places they live.
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Place at the Table: Voices Across Generations
An interactive event at Brent Cross Town which brought together diverse intergenerational voices to imagine better urban futures.
