Stirling Prize Winner Hodder announces results of
01.11.09
Judges have announced the final winner in a competition that aims to bring world class design to six Lancashire towns.
The announcement by Stirling Prize winner and competition chairman Stephen Hodder MBE that London-based Neu Architects was selected as the sixth winner marks the completion of the first stage of one of the most ambitious architectural competitions ever held in the UK.
It comes two years after the death of one of the idea’s originators, Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records and creator of the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester which was credited with kickstarting the renewal of Manchester’s city centre.
Commissioned by regeneration agency Elevate which has been leading a massive housing renewal programme in the North-East of Lancashire, the “Pennine Lancashire Squared” competition attracted entries from 78 architectural practices around the world to design concepts for squares in Accrington, Bacup, Blackburn, Burnley, Clitheroe and Nelson.
Stephen Hodder said, “No one has ever attempted anything on this scale before. Six resolutely independent towns all working together in a transformational way on a single architectural competition. The creative response from the architectural community has been amazing. These squares are not cookie-cutter solutions dusted down off some architect’s shelf. They are living, breathing spaces which are about the people of these towns and their lives.”
The competition winners range from the creation of a “secret landscape garden” in Blackburn to a dramatic cast iron curve in Accrington telling the story of the town.
Now the winners have been selected, the next stage in the competition will be to integrate the designs into ongoing plans for town centre regeneration. The Pennine Lancashire councils will be working with a new Development Company on economic and housing developments that will transform the traditional mill towns.
Councillor Michael Lee, Chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Leaders and Chief Executives said, “Pennine Lancashire Squared has challenged all of us charged with representing our areas to think creatively about the future we want for our towns. It’s about taking the best of who we are and reinventing ourselves for the future. Sometimes people in the North bemoan the lack of interest paid to our area by the outside world, but here we have a concrete example where 78 architectural practices from around the world have applied their creativity to Pennine Lancashire’s future. We are very pleased with the results. The point now is to get them built.”
Elevate Chief Executive Max Steinberg said, “This competition works in so many ways. Elevate is primarily a housing renewal agency. Our achievements include the refurbishment of 4,267 traditional terraced houses and acquiring 2,280 properties for redevelopment so that modern new homes can be built. But working with Tony Wilson and his partner Yvette Livesey we developed another agenda which is about making these towns even more attractive places to live in. These squares are like picture frames for their towns, showing off their vibrant culture, friendly people and rich heritage. ”
Yvette Livesey of Livesey/Wilson Associates who came up with the Pennine Lancashire Squared concept with her late partner, Tony Wilson, said, “The leaders of Pennine Lancashire were far-sighted enough to see from the beginning that regeneration is about more than just buildings. It’s about people and it’s about culture. Tony would be very pleased to see our vision of bringing world-class architecture to this important corner of the North West reach this significant new stage.”