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Shortlist announced -Phase 1b of the Grahame Park Regeneration Project

The shortlist is announced for the selection of an architect, or team of architects, to deliver Phase 1b of the Grahame Park Regeneration Project, Colindale NW9.

Choices for Grahame Park Ltd (CfGP), part of Genesis Housing Group, is working in partnership with Barnet Council to deliver the flagship regeneration of the disadvantaged 1970's, GLC-built Grahame Park Estate. This aims to transform Grahame Park into a thriving, 3,400-home mixed tenure community. Phase 1b is a £95m scheme which will involve demolition of 200 plus homes, the construction of c.600 new homes, together with new community facilities, retail and public realm improvements.

The Jury Panel, which consisted of representatives from CfGP, Countryside Properties Plc and Barnet Council, together with John Lyall (John Lyall Architects Ltd) acting as the RIBA Architect Adviser, faced an embarrassment of riches in selecting the shortlist. The five teams (in alphabetical order of the Consortium Leader) selected are as follows:

• Hawkins\Brown with Proctor & Matthews Architects and Cartwright Pickard Architects.
• Jestico + Whiles with Rivington Street Studio Architects and Peter Barber Architects.
• Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands with de Metz Forbes Knight Architects Ltd, Alison Brooks Architects Ltd, Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects and de Rijke Marsh Morgan.
• Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects with Amin Taha Architects, Ash Sakula Architects, Niall McLaughlin Architects and Tonkin Liu.
• White Arkitekter AB with PCKO Architects.

The Jury Panel selected teams which they felt had the resources, experience and design flair to generate ideas for the landmark mixed use buildings, central piazza and housing, with the capability to see these economically translated into the built form. Teams needed to have responded to CfGP's aspirations for Grahame Park and to demonstrate how they might work with the local community and other stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of Phase 1b, which occupies a key gateway location to both the regenerated estate and other developments in the surrounding area.

Anne Dufton (Chief Executive, Choices for Grahame Park Ltd) commented: "We are delighted with the interest shown by a wide range of excellent architects in our project. This phase provides a tremendous opportunity to transform the public perception of Grahame Park as well as to create a successful heart for the 3000-home regeneration scheme."

John Lyall (John Lyall Architects Ltd) commented: "To have a shortlist of five teams of such extremely good architects working in collaboration is adventurous, challenging, and delightful. We have high expectations for exciting and practical designs which will take Grahame Park into a new era of sustainable quality."

The eventual winner will need to have the skills and resources to deliver CfGP's commitment to produce a high quality urban environment, with homes and public buildings that are safe, secure and promote integration of the Estate with the wider locality. 

Teams will be invited to present their initial design ideas, approach and thinking at a meeting of the Grahame Park Residents' Design Panel and attend a final interview with the Jury Panel in late April 2008.