Studio Egret West has scooped the contest to design a key new development in Maidenhead town centre.
The architects saw off competition from Allies and Morrison, Eric Parry and Rick Mather to win the RIBA Competition, run on behalf of developer Ryger Maidenhead and the London and Aberdeen Group.
Runners-up, Allies & Morrison have also been chosen to work on a major building within the scheme.
The 19,000m2 triangular mixed use development will sit within the strategic masterplan already drawn up for the Berkshire town and provide a combination of retail, commercial, offices and residential buildings with associated parking and a new public town plaza.
In addition, the project will improve accessibility and links with the Nicholson Shopping Centre and car park, the High Street and the Maidenhead railway station - joining the Crossrail route from 2019.
‘We aim to inject new life into the heart of Maidenhead,’ David West, co-founder Studio Egret West said. ‘Our ambition for this pivotal site in Maidenhead is to seamlessly weave high quality homes and workspace, well orientated eating, drinking and specialist retail into the fabric of the town. Working with traditional materials with a contemporary twist, we propose a family of noble buildings, clustered in pairs around a central square and flexible forum building providing a community focus.”
Sarah Williams of S Williams Architects, acting as the RIBA adviser added: ‘It was a very difficult decision, due to the high quality of all the teams and submissions and whilst Studio Egret West’s proposals for Maidenhead struck a chord with the judging panel, Allies & Morrison’s proposals were also highly recommended.
The masterplan addresses many of the key design challenges posed by the brief and will, no doubt, provide a thoughtful, elegant and playful development, very much embedded at the heart of Maidenhead.
Previous story (AJ 04.03.14)
Revealed: shortlist for £100m Maidenhead revamp
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.