The emerging Kings Cross precinct, London /October 19, 2017 by Tom Oliver Payne

A series of 9 photographs from a walk in the emerging, Kings Cross precinct in London.

Blog

September 27, 2026

Shanghai in layers

September 27, 2026

July 7, 2026

What Makes This Place Different?

July 7, 2026

March 24, 2026

Against Placelessness: Identity is decided earlier than we think

March 24, 2026

February 22, 2026

Public benefit without meaning?

February 22, 2026

January 3, 2026

This Place, Before

January 3, 2026

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Shanghai for work in August. I really love the layers of this city. Old neighbourhoods beside enormous new developments, strange little oddities that have been preserved, messy laneways and huge modern shopping districts… and then the sheer sc

One of the things I love about cities where so much life happens in public is people watching. The fashion, the conversations, the random things being carried around. When we only travel inside cars, or life happens behind closed doors, you just don&

Three weeks, 1,500kms with my bike through England, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, with a few trains and ferries along the way. Dubai, Birmingham and Hampshire bookending it all.
My 8th #TheMalleMile and, somehow, my 9th time in Copenhagen.
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There’s been a lot of debate over the last couple of years about how much housing we need and where it should go. We need more housing. But I also think how we build matters.

The places we love tend to have stories, memories and a strong sense

Xi’an, China, 2026.
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📷: @angelinap

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Shanghai for work in August. I really love the layers of this city. Old neighbourhoods beside enormous new developments, strange little oddities that have been preserved, messy laneways and huge modern shopping districts… and then the sheer scale of the place. A few things I found interesting… The colonnades are called qilou, or arcade houses. The surviving stretch along nearby Jinling Road East is being preserved. Interesting how a design idea that came from another part of China is such an important part of the character of this part of Shanghai. Then... just around the corner, new Shanghai is going up. Around Fuyou Road thousands of buildings have been taken down as part of a huge renewal of this part of the city, while parts of the historic lane neighbourhood are being kept. The scale of the change is unlike anything I’ve seen. Zhangyuan from above. Seeing the old grain of the city so clearly was pretty cool. The lanes, roofs and tiny plots sitting amongst much bigger modern buildings. Zhangyuan is one of Shanghai’s best-preserved lilong neighbourhoods, with shikumen houses that mix Chinese and Western influences. I just liked the layers in this little bit of a street. Fine-grain lanes still run off so many of Shanghai’s bigger streets, particularly through the older parts of the former French Concession. They come from a very particular period in Shanghai’s history, mixing Chinese and Western ways of building. They also make walking around much more interesting. Shanghai can feel incredibly polished and futuristic, then a few streets away everything seems organic and messy. I met this guy in a market, had a quick chat, and he was happy for me to take his photo. Sunday morning in the park. Two men dancing on a stage while everyone else sat around watching. I was surprised by how much older Chinese culture seems to be embraced by younger generations and brands. Traditional symbols consistently pop up in modern settings like malls. Floating Clouds on Water at Rockbund uses bamboo weaving create this huge canopy with shade, mist and reflections off the water. It also sits within a precinct where dozens of historic buildings have been restored and ada

One of the things I love about cities where so much life happens in public is people watching. The fashion, the conversations, the random things being carried around. When we only travel inside cars, or life happens behind closed doors, you just don’t get to see as much of it. You can learn quite a lot about a place just by sitting somewhere for a while and watching people go past. #Copenhagen back in July.

Three weeks, 1,500kms with my bike through England, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, with a few trains and ferries along the way. Dubai, Birmingham and Hampshire bookending it all. My 8th #TheMalleMile and, somehow, my 9th time in Copenhagen. Europe in summer is something else. The energy of cities at 9pm and orange sunsets in the countryside. But the best part is always the people. Family, old friends and new ones. Thanks everyone for an awesome time.

There’s been a lot of debate over the last couple of years about how much housing we need and where it should go. We need more housing. But I also think how we build matters. The places we love tend to have stories, memories and a strong sense of identity. The challenge is making room for more homes without losing the things that make those places special. I wrote a few thoughts for The Fifth Estate a little while back on this. Link in bio. 🌇☺️ ____ ____ #sydney #urbandesign #placemaking

Tree of Life, Xi’an, China.

Xi’an, China, 2026. . . . . __________________ 📷: @angelinap

_____________ . . . . . _____________ #sydney

‘The Pause Before’. A short photo study I’ve been doing along Parramatta Road. Once Sydney’s major commercial spine, the corridor carries small traces of its earlier lives. - An inter-war cinema, turned ice rink and now dilapidated. - Faded KB Lager and Tooth’s beer signs show the time when the road housed pubs and retailers for the busy foot traffic below. - Victorian terraces which had upper floors home to some of Sydney’s most prominent. It’s easy to drive through Parramatta Road and only notice its derelict character, but looking closely it holds incredible stories about how Sydney has changed. ______________________ #Parramattaroad #Sydney