New London Awards 2016 Winners Announced
Holmes Road Studios in Camden by Peter Barber Architects, which provides accommodation for 59 homeless people, is the Overall Winner – the ‘best of the best’ of the 2016 New London Awards. The jury applauded the almshouse-inspired studio flats that will give its occupants a real sense of belonging, empowerment and self-worth to enable them to find their feet.
Peter Barber Architects also won best built project in the Conservation & Retrofit category for its Mount Pleasant Studios project, and a commendation for its Employment Academy scheme in the Education category.
Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Group, received New Londoner of the Year Award for his substantial contribution to the capital, his companies having been responsible for the construction of some 40,000 homes in London over the last two decades.
The annual awards is organised and hosted by New London Architecture to celebrate the best architecture and development recently completed or in design across the capital.
From a shortlist of 136 projects, 26 category winners were honoured across all sectors of London’s built environment, ranging from Housing to Offices, Education to Transport & Infrastructure, and Public Spaces to Masterplans & Area Strategies. Each scheme was selected by a prestigious international jury advised by London-based experts for having both the highest design quality and most positive social and economic impact for London.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners won the Mayor’s Prize, selected by newly elected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, for its PLACE/Ladywell residential project, which will provide 24 homes for local families in need. The Lewisham Council scheme occupies a site awaiting development, and uses a volumetric construction method to create high quality temporary accommodation that has a design life of 60 years and is re-deployable up to five times.
The inaugural People’s Choice award, which gave members of the public the chance to vote for their favourite London buildings over the London Festival of Architecture in June, went to reForm Architects and Elliott Wood’s Rotherhithe Bridge design. Receiving an overwhelmingly number of votes, the win for the currently unfunded project demonstrates the will of the two communities it will link.
The Ashden Prize – championing sustainable projects that demonstrate high levels of energy efficiency – was won by The New Studio at Wimbledon College of Arts. Designed by Penoyre & Prasad, the highly energy efficient project received the second highest BREEAM score in the world in design stage assessment, and has achieved below Zero Carbon and an A+ EPC rating.
Peter Murray, Chairman of New London Architecture said “It is no surprise that our key awards have gone to housing, the lack of which remains at the top of the list of issues that face the Mayor. Peter Barber’s homes for the homeless have a dignity, delight and economy that celebrates the social purpose of great architecture; Tony Pidgley has delivered huge numbers of homes at a time when the rest of the industry has struggled to meet targets, while Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, winners of the Mayor’s Prize, have been at the forefront of developing modern methods of construction to provide truly affordable homes for Londoners. We hope that the best innovative thinking by London’s pool of talented designers, developers and constructors can be harnessed by Sadiq Khan and his Deputy Mayor for Housing to deliver the new homes the capital so desperately needs.”
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, James Murray, said: “Great architecture must marry design and function, helping us build a future London we can all be proud of. All the projects recognised at this year’s awards make an important contribution to capital’s built environment and many have been delivered collaboratively with boroughs and City Hall.
“I’m delighted PLACE/Ladywell has won the Mayor’s Award. It is an excellent example of innovative design and uses modern methods of construction to deliver much-needed homes for Londoners. The quality of design and commitment to managing costs demonstrates how building new homes does not have to come at the expense of creating desirable places to live.”
Discussing his New Londoner Award, Tony Pidgley, Chairman of Berkeley Group commented: “I am very humbled and honoured to receive this magnificent award.
“Our biggest challenge in London is undoubtedly housing. There’s never one answer. Politicians, planners, and housebuilders must work together in a spirit additionality and affordability which London desperately needs, and which I know the new Mayor supports.
“I passionately believe that homebuilding can be a force for good and make society a better place. There’s a lot for our city and industry to celebrate and be proud of. Now we must find a way of providing everybody with an affordable home and creating wonderful and interesting places, while generating jobs and growth.”