The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and renowned architect and TV presenter George Clarke have today crowned the first winners of their Design Future London challenge.
The challenge, created by Clarke’s education charity MOBIE – Ministry of Building Innovation and Education – and the Mayor, asked young people to let their imaginations run free by designing an innovative and inspirational green home or masterplan in an urban neighbourhood for the Royal Docks in east London, close to the new City Hall.
The young designers were challenged to create a home and neighbourhood that address four key priorities for London’s recovery from COVID-19:
· Making places for communities
· sustainable transport
· building housing
· addressing climate change and providing green energy
The designs and plan needed to meet the changing needs of future generations of Londoners, including promoting wellbeing, quality of life and healthy living and building a better London for everyone.
Today, the 12 finalists (from three age groups – 11-15, 16-18 and 19-24+) presented their designs to a panel of architecture, planning and construction experts at City Hall before taking part in a networking lunch with over 50 professionals working in careers that shape London.
The winners of the three categories were:
11-15 years old: Project Prasinos, The Ursuline Academy Ilford
An accessible and inclusive community design with a focus on sustainability. Based around a Polysolar solar energy unit which made the buildings self sufficient in energy with green walls and hydrogen capture to power resident’s cars.
16 – 18 years old: Misty, School 21
Sustainable design with unique features like the ‘snowglobe’ where communities could get together and socialise.
19 – 24+ years old: Urbanlett, University College London
Echo Village provided great connections, a mix of uses and unique opportunities for living in flexible apartment types to suit families using sustainable materials. The floating donut riverside bridge was a unique solution to crossing Bow Creek.
The winning entries received a range of prizes, including days of work experience with project supporters Grimshaw architects and Lendlease.
The competition was a joint project between MOBIE and the Mayor’s planning team. It was designed to encourage young people to consider a career in town planning, construction and the built environment sector, as well as to inspire them to think about how places and spaces shape and influence their lives.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I have been overwhelmed by the quality of entries to the Design Future London challenge.
“My goal is to create a better London for everyone - a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners - and how we design our homes, spaces and places plays a key part in this.
“This challenge has encouraged talented young Londoners to showcase their ideas on how we can shape the future of our great city - from the types of housing and the transport links we need, AND what our public areas and open spaces should look like, to how we plan for future climate challenges.
“I would like to congratulate all the finalists on their inspirational designs. The future of architecture and design in our city is in safe hands.”
George Clarke, MOBIE founder, said: “Home is the most important piece of architecture in our lives. It crafts the way we live, and how we grow as families and communities. A well-designed home and neighbourhood can enhance the way we live and promote good health and wellbeing.
“I have been genuinely wowed by the standard, quantity, creativity and sheer brilliance of the work that these young people have produced. We expected to see amazing design talent presented, from past experience we are never disappointed, but the submissions to this competition have been nothing short of amazing.
“The entrants in all age categories have created some incredible and inspirational future home designs and community master planning. The shortlisting judges faced an almost impossibly challenging task examining the hundreds of entries, but after hours of debate and scrutinising points of comparison produced a shortlist of twelve teams, we somehow decided the winners and runners up. It has been excellent to meet the students and learners and see their live presentations. It has been a brilliant event and a memorable experience for these young people. Whether a winner, a finalist or simply an entrant, every participant has earned my full respect and admiration, well done everyone. I sincerely hope taking part in this challenge will inspire many young Londoners to pursue careers in the built environment that will help shape the future of this great city".
Sietske van der Ploeg, Director of Strategy and Campaigns at the Mayor’s Fund for London said: “The Mayor’s Fund for London has been proud to support Design Future London.
Our city’s built environment offers world-class career opportunities – unfortunately, young Londoners often face barriers accessing them.
Through this challenge, they have been able to showcase their inspiring ideas while improving their skills.
We hope this experience will encourage them to take those first steps towards a career in the built environment – where they will help shape the future of our city.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
Social Media Links #DesignFutureLondon
More information about the Challenge and the finalists can be found here:
Useful Links for Design Future London
Shortlist and the People's Vote
The judging panel comprised of:
Sakina Sheikh – London Assembly Member, Chair of Planning and Regeneration Committee
George Clarke – Architect, TV presenter and Founder of MOBIE
Andrew Thomas – Senior Partner and Architect, Grimshaw (Judge of 16-18 and 19-24+ category shortlist)
Jessica Wallis - Development Director, Lendlease
Melissa Dias – Design Management Trainee, Wates Residential and Mayor’s Fund for London Ambassador (Judge of 11-15 category shortlist)
Shaynesia Byfield – Project Manager, Homes for Haringey (Judge of 11-15 category shortlist)
On Thursday 26 May 2022, Grimshaw Architects held an event as part of Clerkenwell Design Week to celebrate the design challenge. The curators of the challenge and those who had entered were invited to talk more about their experience. This video explains more.