Canals could be turned into floating night markets

The aim is to get people using towpaths and canals at night when they are often seen as intimidating places and avoided
“Bright idea”: a new use for using waterways like Little Venice has won a competition
Gregory Wrona / Alamy Stock Photo

London's canals could be transformed into a series of floating markets in a plan put forward as part of a competition to boost the city’s 24-hour economy.

The proposal was one of a series of “bright ideas” welcomed by Night Czar Amy Lamé that will form the heart of an exhibition opening next month.

She was one of the judges in the competition, which asked for “small-scale” solutions that would make London work better at night. It attracted entries from around the world.

The winning idea was developed by a team at Sir Terry Farrell’s architecture firm. Its myKanaal app would direct boats to empty moorings where they can set up shop and alert Londoners when they arrive. The aim is to get people using towpaths and canals at night when they are often seen as intimidating places and avoided.

London has more than 60 miles of canals linking Camden to Paddington and Hackney to Islington, and stretching out into Essex and Hertfordshire.

Runners-up included a new design for a urinal, which funnels waste off into boxes full of compost to be used in parks, and children’s swings which light up and play music depending on how they are being used.

The Night Time Is The Right Time exhibition opens on June 1 at The Building Centre in Store Street, Bloomsbury, and is free to visit. The competition was organised by The Built Environment Trust and supported by the Mayor of London. The trust’s Lewis Blackwell, chairman of the jury, said “modest investments” could help transform the way the city works at night.

“We called for big joined-up ideas in how culture and infrastructure can better work together,” he said. “Looking at the finalists is like seeing an alternative city that is more exciting, efficient, with more opportunity, and safer.

“These projects typically don’t call for rebuilding but just using what is there more smartly, with mostly ingenious small-scale interventions that have the potential for great impact.”

Ms Lamé said: “To become a truly 24-hour metropolis we need bright ideas about how we can fulfil the city’s potential at night in a way that works for everyone. From night markets on the river to light and music installations and innovative ways to keep streets clean, these concepts are truly inspiring.”

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