4 – Architecture news
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Design Show Liverpool, the city’s four-day design event that took place in June, has awarded Best of Show to eight of its exhibitors. The winners were Bannerbags (Accessories), Paperworks by Hannah Lo (Eco-Design), Paul Robinson (Fashion), Lazarian (Furniture), Notorianni Glass (Glass), Rebecca Gouldson (Homewares), John Moore (Jewellery) and Jo Vincent (Lighting).
Julie Colligan, project manager for Design Initiative, the organisation behind the show, explains that the idea of the awards was to create a benchmark in standards of quality, recognition of key trends and craftsmanship.
Eight winners were chosen from the 150-plus exhibitors, across categories of furniture, glass, home wares, lighting, fashion, accessories, jewellery and eco-design.
Design Show Liverpool, a selling exhibition of ceramics, glass, lighting and fashion, is the brainchild of Della Tinsley and Gideon Cleary, who have worked with regional promotional organisation Design Initiative.
Boris Johnson gives speech
Copyright: Ben Graville
In his opening address at the London Architecture Festival at Somerset House, mayor of London Boris Johnson gave the first sign of his intention to leave a lasting legacy for the design of London’s built environment.
Amongst the ideas outlined to an audience of architects, Johnson included the introduction of ‘bicycle superhighways’ across London, 'linking up' the capital’s parks and green spaces, and an open-minded policy towards tall buildings, were among his suggestions for improving the city.
The Mayor’s Office is due to publish a Direction of Travel Document in July, which will formalise its plans for developing the infrastructure and built environment in the capital.
Under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Mayor is required to produce a London Plan to address 'opportunity areas' for the capital’s development, such as urban planning, transport, design policy and the environment (see www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan|).
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The winners of the Europan 9 (the world’s largest housing and urban design competition for young architects) have been announced. The three sites in the UK – Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent - attracted submissions from 61 teams across Europe.
The winners were:
Stoke-on-Trent – RCKa City Slipway scheme (RCKa) Milton Keynes – A Forest in the City (Tom Russell Architects) Sheffield – Urban Grafting (Prewett Bizley)
For more information, visit www.europan.org.uk|.
The shortlist for this year’s Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award was announced on 12 June.
21 outstanding projects shortlisted for this year’s award show the impact of high-quality design. They are helping to drive regeneration and give a sense of identity and place, refresh our cultural heritage, and provide children with bright and inspiring environments at school or in hospital. The winners will be announced in October.
To view the shortlisted projects, visit
www.betterpublicbuildings.gov.uk|.
The housing market is offering little comfort for homeowners as house prices continue to fall. For many with mortgages, the value that has been borrowed could be greater than the value of the property, and this is expected to have a very negative impact throughout the building industry.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says that the average number of transactions per surveyor over the last three months is now at 17.4, which is the lowest figure since 1978. There is also a continuing lack of demand and surveyors have reported new buyer enquiries as 'still well into the negative territory'.
RICS spokesperson Jeremy Leaf said, 'While demand remains weak and housing transactions continue to evaporate, there is a very real danger to the wider economy. The property industry will not be the only casualty in the fall out from the credit crunch, with the high street and purveyors of a range of household goods, including furniture and white goods also feeling the pinch. Construction workers such as plumbers and bricklayers will start to see employment opportunities dry up as the pace of housing transactions continues to abate.'
As the credit crunch continues to cause ripples making lenders less willing to loan money, young people trying to get on the property ladder could be turned away if they don't have a deposit. Michael Saunders, Head Economist at Citigroup says that house prices are down 6% in the last five months and that 'the worst of the credit crisis' lies head.
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The UK Government has pledged an extra £9.6 million to help rough sleepers make a permanent move away from the streets. The funding, announced by Housing Minister Caroline Flint, will support an additional 11 projects and 2 existing ones to improve and build new hostels and homelessness services across the country, helping homeless people back into independent living by giving them new skills and training.
The new services will enable residents to learn practical skills such as catering or decorating, through to establishing new social enterprises.
It brings the total investment under the Government's Places of Change Programme to £80 million over the next three years which will deliver 80 schemes, transforming hostels and homelessness services.
The Hostels Capital Improvement Programme has already proved successful in tackling homelessness and providing value for money, with transformed hostels and homelessness services showing a 30% increase in clients moving on successfully into training, education, employment, or independent living as a result of new services available.
What is being hailed as the world’s first dedicated graphic design museum opened its doors to the public in the Netherlands on 12 June.
The Foundation National Museum for Graphic Design, based in Beyerd Breda, functions as an exhibition centre and education resource for both the public and design professionals. The intention of the museum, says its director Peter Rijntjes, is to provide an international platform for established graphic designers, as well as a showcase for new world-class talent.
The museum sought funding from a number of sources including national government and private donors to extend and revamp the site, with the help of Dutch architect Hans van Heeswijk.
The museum’s first retrospective is 100 Years of Dutch Graphic Design, curated by Esther Cleven.
For more information, visit www.graphicdesignmuseum.com|.
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Real Estate Opportunities Limited (REO), a London listed property company, unveiled its new vision and masterplan for Battersea Power Station. The iconic building is to be brought back to life mindful of advanced, sustainable development.
The station will be used to generate electricity again but from renewable sources rather than coal. Alongside the existing Power Station there will be a new building designed by Rafael Viñoly, described as 'the cleanest and greenest building in London through innovative use of natural ventilation'.
REO is planning to spend £150 million on saving and repairing Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s 1930s Power Station, with the key historic spaces retained and open to the public. It will be developed to incorporate hotel, residential and retail accommodation. It will once again be used to produce power with a new combined cooling, heat and power plant, but this time using biofuels, waste and other renewable energy sources. Two of the existing Power Station’s chimneys will be reused as flues for this new Energy Centre.
There are also plans to make the development a hub for the creative industries of London. In the new plan, yet to be submitted to Wandsworth Council, and to start being built in 2012, there will be spaces for art and design companies, as well as new media.
Glasgow School of Art's campus is set for a redesign, creating opportunities for consultancies and improving facilities. A competition is expected to be announced in the autumn with work to commence work on site in 2010-2011.
The School will seek to encourage architects and interior designers to apply to work on the redevelopment. The Scottish Funding Council is committing £50m towards the first phase, where three buildings located on Renfrew Street, opposite the Mackintosh building, will be knocked down.
Set for demolition are a 1970s-style building that houses the students' union, Victoria Bar, Newbery Tower and the Foulis building, where the design studios are located.
The plans aim to bring the campus in line with the nearby Mackintosh building, which is undergoing an £8.6m restoration by an internal project team, project architect Page & Park Architects and interior architect ZM Architects.
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Belfast’s Lyric Theatre started major reconstruction aimed at establishing a world-class theatre for the Northern Ireland capital.
The £17m revamp, overseen by architect O’Donnell Tuomey and theatre design specialists, will provide improved facilities including an enlarged stage, an acoustically enhanced auditorium, an extra studio to support community projects, a rehearsal room, dressing rooms, bar and foyer. The Lyric will also be rebranded before opening to the public in 2010.
The brief is to build an international-class theatre on the site of the original Lyric plus the acquired adjoining property. The new design, masterminded and overseen by O’Donnell Tuomey, will improve the theatre practically and aesthetically. The Dublin-based architect clinched the project in 2003, having won an international open design competition. It subsequently appointed a more comprehensive design team to specific areas of the project.
Funding for the project has come from Northern Ireland’s Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, which donated £10m, while the Arts Council contributed £2m. The remainder has come from private donors.