We will engage over 1000 local people to make Waterloo station a place to see, with opulent and sumptuous art installations in mosaic around the whole station. Some of these will be colourful abstract designs. Others will link the station and its neighbourhood to its history. All of them will attract the eye and become a permanent 24/7 landmark art work that sets the future free. Mosaic is a metaphor for London: All the peoples, tribes, clans, colours, creeds, faiths and freedoms coming together to make a brilliant whole. In addition we will secure 5 permanent jobs for local people, work with 200 young people in trouble with the law, engage over 1000 volunteers and make Waterloo station look dazzling.

What we'll deliver:

• Enabling local residents to leave their landmark on the neighbourhood
• Put in 300 permanent (and removable) mosaics to empty frames in Waterloo station's infra-structure
• Secure 5 local jobs
• Work with over 1000 local volunteers, training them in artisan craft

Why it's a great idea:

We want Waterloo to become a destination which people enjoy visiting, with a visual fragrance that displays local civic pride and reaches out to the travelling public who pass through Waterloo. It will become a must see space-place. Waterloo is Britain's busiest train station - a great connector of people, towns and cities – part of the backbone of our country. It joins us together and re-unites families, customers and traders. Network Rail delivers us safely to the doors we want to reach and open. At Waterloo station you see the ebb and flow of our culture in action. People and goods are linked and created. We want to make the experience of arrival and departure better. Currently the station is going through an Improvement Plan and we want local people to contribute in a meaningful and dynamic way. Destination Waterloo will change the way we view public space and revive our interest in the lost art of mosaic.

Steps to get it done:

• securing other public/private funding to match with Spacehive funding
• bringing on board Network Rail
• community consultation event to consider themes of interest
• drawing up a set of designs
• researching the heritage of the station to provide themes

Engage local young people in trouble with the law - thinking about how they can leave a positive mark on their environment and take part in re-imagining the city. We want to break down barriers about how cities work and to build civic pride with people who may feel marginalised. An understanding of who is behind city planning and building is particularly important for people who are getting into trouble with the law, as well as those who come from poor families and families in which English is a second language. These teens often attend schools that are under-resourced, with no government or economics classes and few opportunities to interface with public officials or participate in civic life. As adults, they are less likely to vote, call elected officials, or engage in collective activism. This has real consequences. We have provided a genuine alternative over the past 14 years for local young people and this will be another great opportunity for them.