BREAKING NEWSThe winner of the award which recognizes the contribution that the building makes to the streetscape and skyscape of the City of London as much as its architectural form was the Foster + Partners new office building at 51 Lime Street, EC3 built for The British Land Company Plc and Stanhope Plc. The construction management procurement was by Mace Limited.
The judges, chaired by Paul Finch were the Master of the Company Jonathan Ball, Edward King, Howard Copping and Peter Murray they were accompanied by the Clerk of the Company, David Cole-Adams visited nine buildings/sites on Wednesday 27 February and were impressed by several of the candidates for this year’s award.
In their report, Paul Finch noted ‘Our general comment was that the City has improved considerably in terms of the attention given to public space and the environs of new buildings in recent years, and we congratulate the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Streetscape Team for their work and commitment.
There are three buildings the judges wished to mention.
First, the new City Information Kiosk opposite St Paul’s, by the MAKE Architects for the City of London Corporation. If there were a ‘jeu d’esprit' award (which there is not), then this would have won it. The judges liked the attention to detail, the liveliness of the form, and the attractive face it presents to visitors and tourists.
There were two close contenders for this year’s award. The first was 51 Aldermanbury Square, by Eric Parry Associates for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. There was much to admire in this scheme, including the clever treatment of the facade to reduce the apparent scale of the block, and the thoughtful curvature at the top of the building. At ground level, the cut through to the street beyond has created a significant improvement to pedestrian experience, including the view of the double height reception with its artworks, and the introduction of seating and water. The landscaping in Aldermanbury Square was welcomed; a rather dreary backwater has become a real City amenity.
The winner of this year’s award, however, was felt to have succeeded in addressing an even greater challenge: that of designing a building immediately next to Lloyd’s of London that works at street level. Foster & Partners’ Willis Building at 51 Lime Street for The British Land Co Plc and Stanhope Plc was felt to have succeeded extremely well. This time, curvature had been used for the concave façade addressing the side of Lloyd’s, reflecting it magnificently. At street level, there was a real feeling of being in a City of London space, and of being part of the close-knit world of insurance. Excellent paving, generous provision of seating, a new pedestrian route, and a ground floor animated with semi-public uses made this building a pleasure to experience. It is a very worth winner.
The Award Certificates were presented to:
Ian Whitby - Foster & Partners on behalf of the architects, Richard Elliott of The British Land Company Plc and Andrew Highton of Stanhope Plc for the developers and Nick More of Mace.
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