Designing Cities That Last: Masterplanning the Future with Bob Allies

In episode 19 of Talking Place, host Tanisha Raffiuddin ‘talks place’ with Bob Allies, Founding Partner at Allies and Morrison, to explore what makes cities work, and how thoughtful masterplanning can shape places that could last for generations.

From early housing projects in Milton Keynes to transformative urban frameworks at King’s Cross, the Olympic Park, and Brent Cross Town, Bob’s work has influenced the way masterplans are designed and how they evolve over time. Together, they discuss how to balance vision with flexibility and fixity, the importance of continuity, and why great cities must embrace change to survive.

Continuity and Connection

For Bob, every successful place begins with continuity, a deep respect for the history and character of its site.

“Allies and Morrison’s work has always been about how buildings respond to what’s around them,” he explains. 

In practice, that means thinking not just about individual buildings but about the spaces they enclose between them, the streets, courtyards, and views that shape how people experience the city. Enclosure, hierarchy, and legibility all play their part in helping people connected with a place and feel a sense of belonging.

The City as a Shared Endeavour

Cities, Bob argues, are defined by collaboration and change.

“They’re extraordinary because they’re made by so many different people, agencies, and institutions together,” he says. “That’s why they’re so efficient, we share everything.”

It’s this collective authorship that allows cities to evolve while retaining their character. Change, for Bob, isn’t something to fear but a sign of vitality: “If cities stop changing, they die. The best ones keep evolving, layer upon layer.”

A Masterplan Is a Process, Not a Plan

Having spent more than two decades working on King’s Cross, Bob has learned that large-scale urban projects require patience, adaptability, and trust.

“King’s Cross began in 2000, and 25 years later, it’s still unfolding,” he reflects. “That’s why a masterplan must be seen as a process, not a plan. It’s about setting things in motion, not fixing them in time.”

The team’s approach at King’s Cross was pioneering: instead of rigid design codes, they introduced flexible parameters and “swing blocks” that could shift between uses as the city’s needs changed. The result, he explains, is “a dynamic masterplan, one that evolves rather than dictates.”

Stewardship and the Question of Public Space

Long-term projects bring long-term responsibilities. Bob is candid about the ongoing debate around the privatisation of public space, especially in developments like King’s Cross.

“It’s not really privatising public space,” he clarifies. “It’s private land being opened up for public use, and often, local authorities don’t want to take on the cost of maintaining it. The key is that these places remain inclusive, safe, and genuinely open to everyone.”

For Bob, stewardship means ensuring that public spaces continue to serve communities long after construction is complete, even when responsibility shifts between public and private hands. He argues that unless we are willing to pay more tax as a society to upkeep public space, there will be a need for them to be maintained privately.

Designing for the Long View in Bath

As the Architect in Residence for the City of Bath, Bob now applies his experience to a city with an entirely different set of challenges.

A UNESCO World Heritage site with layers of Roman, Georgian, and modern heritage, Bath is a place where history and future collide. His role, he explains, is to act as a “voice of design reason,” helping councillors, officers, and residents navigate the tensions between conservation and progress.

“There are a lot of underused historic buildings,” he notes. “If we can bring them back into productive use, it gives us the resources to look after them properly.”

He’s also keen to position Bath as a city that responds to the climate emergency and reconnects with nature - from increasing shade and planting to exploring how natural systems can guide 21st-century urbanism.

A Building That Makes and Belongs

The London College of Fashion building at East Bank, shortlisted for the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize, captures many of Bob’s lifelong design principles.

Rather than a conventional higher-education building, it’s designed as a “giant workshop” where students can see and experience the act of ‘making’ all around them just like a mill building.

“The root of the word fashion comes from the Latin facere, to make,” he explains. “When you go inside, you realise it’s all about making - cutting, casting, creating. It’s an incredibly open, transparent place.”

The building also plays an active civic role: its lower floors are open to the public, inviting passers-by to explore, connect, and see creativity in action.

Designing the Next Chapter

Asked what cities should prioritise in the future, Bob doesn’t hesitate to state: public transport.

“It’s the foundation for everything,” he says. “Without it, people depend on cars, and the quality of urban life declines.”

He also highlights the need to think beyond individual buildings: “New investment should make public spaces, not just competition winning architecture. That’s how you create better cities.”

As for his advice to the next generation of urbanists? 

Listen more than you speak. 

“Urban design is a conversation,” he says. “No one person has the answer, the best cities result from working together.”

A Legacy of Listening and Learning

From Bath to Stratford, Bob’s philosophy is rooted in humility and collaboration. For him, the architect’s role is not to impose a vision, but to create frameworks that allow cities, and the people who shape them, to thrive over time.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Talking Place with Bob Allies to hear more about designing for change, stewardship, and the evolving role of the architect in shaping cities that last.

📸: Video and photography content courtesy of Allies and Morrison