Allies and Morrison, Eric Parry, Rick Mather and Studio Egret West have all been shortlisted in the contest to design a key new development in Maidenhead
The RIBA Competition, run on behalf of develo[er Ryger Maidenhead and the London and Aberdeen Group, sought ‘imaginative’ visions for a 19,000m2 triangular site in Maidenhead town centre.
Chosen from 34 entrants, the finalists will work up schemes for a major mixed-use development to sit within the strategic masterplan already drawn up for the Berkshire town.
The new development includes a mix of retail, commercial, offices and residential buildings together with underground parking and a new public town plaza.
The scheme will increase access with Maidenhead’s existing shopping centre, the high street and the railway station which is set to become the western terminus of Crossrail in 2019. The project involves the demolition of existing buildings on a 1.9 hectare site bounded by Broadway, King Street and Queen Street and the construction and the construction of a new ‘landmark’ building forming a southern gateway to the Berkshire town.
Former Aedas big hitter Sarah Williams, now of S Williams Architects, who has helped developing the masterplan with Ryger Maidenhead and the Royal Borough of Windsor, said: ‘We had some fantastic submissions and actually increased
the number on the shortlist as it was such a difficult decision to make. We are really excited about our shortlist and believe we have chosen teams that are quite different in their approach. We are now looking forward to the next stage of the competition.’
Douglas Higgins, managing director of the London & Aberdeen Group, added: ‘The 34 submissions were hugely encouraging and of an extremely high standard, illustrating the significance of this site and its future potential. All of the firms would have been capable of delivering a good scheme, but after a day of deliberation the judging panel decided on the most appropriate four architects. We are all confident that they will provide wonderfully creative, elegant and varied design solutions for the regeneration of this key site in Maidenhead.’
The shortlisted teams will now draw up their ideas for the site before presenting them to a judging panel in April 2014.