Six World-Class Masterplanners
The six architectural practices short-listed for the masterplan design competition were selected on the strength of their past experience and portfolios.
Bob Allies and Graham Morrison founded their practice in 1984, and have worked on a range of high-profile projects in the UK and Ireland. Allies and Morrison won the award for Architectural Practice of the Year at the 2004 Building Awards.
Current projects include:
• King’s Cross Central – a huge, complex 67-acre brownfield site that is one of the most important regeneration projects in London.
• Brent Cross Cricklewood – a business and residential expansion project that includes leisure and retail, and a new main line station with improved transport connections.
• London 2012 – Allies and Morrison is part of a multi-disciplinary team that will develop the Olympic Park once the Olympic Games are over, integrating East London with the rest of the city and working towards long-term, urban regeneration.
Past projects include:
• BBC media village in White City – 140,000m2 of broadcasting facilities, leisure, office and retail plus an energy centre. Completed in 2003.
• Royal Festival Hall – Allies and Morrison has been house architect for this cultural centre for over a decade and was responsible for the refurbishment of the auditorium, foyers and new waterfront, which was completed in 2007.
Since it was founded back in 1947, Benoy has consistently been ranked as one of the world’s most successful commercial architectural practices, although its international portfolio also includes residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects. Benoy’s speciality is creating designs that enhance the quality of urban life and it has studios in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore. The practice has won over 20 international awards in the last five years alone.
Key schemes include:
• St Davids Centre, Cardiff – recently completed architectural project with a masterplan that balances design with commercial realities to deliver a vibrant, mixed-use, urban environment.
• Bullring, Birmingham – a mix of attractive walkways and covered streets, public spaces and event areas and the signature, floating Skyplane roof. Opened in Sept 2003.
• Abu Dhabi – appointed for major projects including the concept masterplanning of Yas Island, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the retail-led, mixed-use quarter at Sheik Zayed Stadium known as Sports City.
• ION Orchard, Singapore – a mixed-use scheme that became an iconic landmark with 3,000m2 of events spaces, a 500m2 art gallery, observation deck and large civic spaces.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates is an international practice headquartered in New York, with offices in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Abu Dhabi. With a staff of more than 500 people representing 43 countries and speaking 30 languages, the firm provides architectural design, programming, urban design, master planning and graphic design services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF’s extensive portfolio, which spans more than 35 countries, includes a wide range of projects from civic and cultural spaces to office, hotel and residential towers to educational and laboratory facilities.
Current projects include:
• Songdo International Business District (IBD) – a 1,500-acre master plan in Incheon, Korea that provides a new model for urban density. This pedestrian-friendly city features a 100-acre central park, convention center, 70-story iconic tower, international school, and numerous other residential, cultural and commercial buildings designed by KPF.
• Hudson Westside Rail Yards Master Plan – a mixed-use, master plan that transforms 15 acres on Manhattan’s west side into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented district. Featuring sustainable and affordable housing, the plan mixes residences with offices, hotels, retail, and a park linking the urban district to the Hudson riverfront.
• Marina Bay Financial Centre – a four million square foot project that unites varied program elements (three office buildings, two residential towers, a retail mall and a city park) into a cohesive mixed-use urban zone connected to Singapore’s multimodal transportation network.
Ken Shuttleworth founded his innovative and highly creative architectural practice in 2004 and finished his first award-winning building within two years. With studios in London, Birmingham, Beijing and Abu Dhabi, Make’s international project portfolio includes residential towers, office developments, low-cost housing projects, education buildings and urban masterplans.
Past urban masterplans include:
• Elephant and Castle – the masterplan for this 57-acre site was completed in 2004. The aim was create a vibrant, new, urban community and reconnect it to the rest of London.
• East Greenwich – the conversion of the former Greenwich District Hospital into a development providing much-needed homes for families and a new community focal point with secure and welcoming residential streets. The masterplan was completed in 2007.
• Edinburgh Waterfront, Granton – one of the largest regeneration schemes in Britain with a strong, urban character, which includes a new beach and two sections of quayside linked by a seafront walk. The masterplan was completed in 2004.
• Tottenham Masterplan – a commission to produce an extensive masterplan for a new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Commissioned in 2010.
Established in 2004 by Christophe Egret and David West, this dynamic architecture and urban design firm sits on the Design for London / London Development Agency Urban Design and Architecture Panel. The studio’s strategic plan for the Ponders End Framework for Change in North London won the London Planning Awards “Best Conceptual Project” in 2010.
Current projects include:
• Sheffield Park Hill – acting as both masterplanner and architect, Studio Egret West is converting the largest listed building in Europe surrounded by parkland opposite the heart of Sheffield City Centre.
• East Croydon – Studio Egret West are designing the overarching masterplan and public realm strategy to unite two major developments on either side of East Croydon station, which is the seventh-busiest station in the UK.
• Middlehaven Docks – lead masterplanner for the last five years for a one planet living community alongside the new Middlesbrough College (with 17,000 students). The first residential ‘cube’ is on site.
• Stratford Town Centre Public Realm Strategy – a £13.5 million public space project that will regenerate Stratford town centre for visitors in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Sir Terry Farrell is an internationally recognized masterplanner, urban designer and architect who set up his practice over 40 years ago. With offices in London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong, he has completed many thoughtful and locally distinctive buildings and masterplans worldwide in rich yet complex urban settings.
Past London projects include:
• Regents Place – a mixed-use development next to a conservation area by Regents Park with a new pedestrian walkway linking into Fitzrovia and the West End. This development opened up views of the listed Holy Trinity Church for the first time and included affordable housing, public art and sustainable landscaping. Completed in early 2009.
• Lots Road Masterplan – a complex development including two new residential towers that mimic a dancing couple will make the most of a small plot of land near to the Earls Court Project Area. Planning was approved in 2005.
• Greenwich Peninsula – home to the O2 Centre (formerly the Millennium Dome), this 183-acre site involved one of the largest masterplans and planning consents ever seen in London. Farrells created a network of streets, squares and parks that respond to the geometry of the Dome. The development includes 10,000 homes in four new residential neighbourhoods, an office and retail district, 5 public parks and 12 public squares. There was huge support for the scheme on a local and national level and planning permission was granted in only 17 weeks.
• Nine Elms – this 14-acre site surrounding the new US Embassy proved challenging because of a network of urban motorways and existing railway infrastructure. Terry Farrell and Partners was appointed to design the masterplan in 2009 thanks to a conceptual proposal that included a simple grid of different street types and Nine Elms Park, a long line of green spaces linking Battersea Park to Vauxhall Cross. The masterplan framework also allowed for flexibility in design to enable future changes in demands.