2008

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Old Market Square wins the RIBA CABE Public Space Award

Date:

11 October 2008

Press office contact:

Mina Vadon
T: +44 (0)207 307 3761
E: mina.vadon@inst.riba.org

The Old Market Square in Nottingham by Gustafson Porter has won the inaugural RIBA CABE Public Space Award.

The announcement was made on Saturday 11 October at a special awards ceremony for the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects' Journal at the BT Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool. The winner was announced by Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the winning practice was presented with a cheque for £5,000 by CABE's Chief Executive Richard Simmons.

The RIBA CABE Public Space Award celebrates publicly accessible external space. It may be green or grey, urban or rural, privately or publicly owned, designed or re-designed and re-furbished for public use. It might be a street, a square, a park or even a corner, as well what is more conventionally thought of a 'space between buildings.'

The new square achieves a successful balance between creating its own identity and providing a flexible space for public amenity and civic and cultural events. The old square adopted a strict geometric orientation towards the Council House; the new layout is less structured, providing a more fluid, inviting public space. The previous listed design acted as a deterrent to public access with the vast majority of people avoiding crossing the space due to the many steps and low walls. The new design improves disabled access and allows the surrounding buildings both to complement each other and stand out individually for their architectural character

Speaking about the building, Sarah Gaventa, Director of CABE Space (sponsors of the prize) and one of the judging panel, said:

"With a history going back 800 years this large space retains its own distinctiveness and sense of place through its sympathetic response to existing site conditions. The presence of traffic and trams to two sides of the square provides connections to the wider area without compromising the visual integrity of the central space. The new square is also doing much to rid the city of its violent image in the media. The community has clearly given life to the square with the diverse activities and human interaction acting as a constant cabaret and source of visual excitement. It is a worthy first winner of this important new award."

The other shortlisted buildings for the award were:

1. Royal Festival Hall, London by Allies and Morrison, Landscape Architects Goss Max, Masterplanners Rick Mather Architects

2. Royal Observatory, London also by Allies and Morrison

Notes to editors

  1. For images and further information please contact Mina Vadon in the RIBA Press Office on 07805 173681, 020 7307 3761 or mina.vadon@inst.riba.org
  2. Full citation follows:

The new square achieves a successful balance between creating its own identity and providing a flexible space for public amenity and civic and cultural events. The old square adopted a strict geometric orientation towards the Council House; the new layout is less structured, providing a more fluid, inviting public space. The previous listed design acted as a deterrent to public access with the vast majority of people avoiding crossing the space due to the many steps and low walls. The new design improves disabled access and allows the surrounding buildings both to complement each other and stand out individually for their architectural character.

The design sympathetically uses the changes in level to provide flexible seating, to integrate the planting and to provide relief to the hard finishes. The resulting design forms bands of terracing and ramps leading to and from the extensive water feature. This encourages Nottingham residents and visitors to spend time enjoying all the diverse activities the square plays host to. The water feature uses the varied characteristics of water to provide visual and acoustic benefits. The varied jets, the reflecting pool, sheet water flows and cascades all serve to provide amenity for young and old: some come to admire their city in the reflecting pool, others to get wet.

Limited tree planting provides larger scale seasonal interest around the perimeter of the site, whilst planting in the stepped planters allows the city to demonstrate its award-winning horticultural skills.

With a history going back 800 years this large space retains its own distinctiveness and sense of place through its sympathetic response to existing site conditions. The presence of traffic and trams to two sides of the square provides connections to the wider area without compromising the visual integrity of the central space. The new square is also doing much to rid the city of its violent image in the media. The community has clearly given life to the square with the diverse activities and human interaction acting as a constant cabaret and source of visual excitement. It is a worthy first winner of this important new award.

  1. The RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects' Journalis the UK's most prestigious architectural prize and is awarded annually to the architects of the building which has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year.  The RIBA awards programme was re-organised in 2007 in a pyramid structure.   The RIBA Awards are judged and presented locally and the the RIBA National Awards are judged and presented nationally.  The RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist is selected following further visits to winners of the RIBA National Awards and of RIBA European Awards for buildings in the rest of the EU
  2. From 2008 the RIBA Stirling Prize becomes a 'built or designed in Britain' All RIBA Award winners can be seen at www.architecture.com
  3. The RIBA Awards and RIBA Stirling Prize are managed by the RIBA Trust. The RIBA Trust manages the cultural assets of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), including the internationally recognised collections of the British Architectural Library. It is the UK's national architecture centre, delivering the RIBA Awards and RIBA Stirling Prize (live on Channel 4); the Royal Gold Medal; International and Honorary Fellowships; Architecture Week (with Arts Council England and the Architecture Centre Network); a full programme of lectures, exhibitions, tours and other events; and an education programme.
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