Delighted to receive the Winner Award at the RIBA headquarters last night for the RIBA Journal Department 4 Education West Fraser Design Ideas Competition. In collaboration with Paul Cashin Architects with Paul Cashin, Alan Clarke and Amy Blencoe. Link to project info

There were 44 entries and we were down to the last 4 on the night. There were a number of really interesting schemes from some very good practices so very proud to win.

There was quite a funny spoiler at the presentation where Richard the compare pressed the wrong button on the slide deck and went backwards revealing one of our images at the beginning.

Some quotes from the judging panel:

• Praised by judge Holly Lewis for its ‘radical retrofit’, Edwin Jones Department Store in Southampton is transformed into a secondary school with community learning spaces.  

• Pedestrianising the intermediary Houndwell Place further connects the school to the sports pitches, with the welcoming colonnaded entrance accessed from Queensway. ‘The design links areas in a very simple way,’ praised judge Stephen Proctor. ‘It properly engages with the context of the town.’

• ‘I like the thought that went into it,’ said judge Jan-Carlos Kucharek. ‘It feels real – a space that could work, with a palpable sense of identity.’ Lewis added: ‘They have been bold with messing with the existing building. I like the urban consideration, the modular elements and using SterlingOSB Zero for something that is repeated across the building is also sensible. It has an architectural ambition.’

Link to RIBAJ web site for our project info and congratulations to the other mentioned and commended projects.