RCKa win Preston Housing Competition
January 20th, 2010 by Russell Curtis (russellcurtis)We’re delighted to announce that we’ve won the prestigious Gateway Goes for Guild housing competition.
Run by the RIBA Competitions Office for Community Gateway Association, the competition attracted 74 entries, and the shortlist of four was announced in November last year.
Our winning scheme, comprising 14 new houses on a tight urban site to the north-east of Preston’s city centre, contains a mix of different unit sizes, with an innovative parking solution allowing an unbroken elevation to the southern boundary, and mews houses along a homezone to the north.
Dave Warlow, Community Gateway Association, said:
Throughout the Gateway Goes for Guild competition we have been overwhelmed by the responses and the quality of the submissions sent to us [74 entries].
RCKa have, with their proposal shown a thorough understanding of what we were looking for in this project.
Judges’ comment on RCKa’s proposals
This was a good team presentation from a practice that has relevant experience of housing in the region and a good balance of skills and past track record of working with Registered Social Landlords. The two lead architects both fit the ethos of Community Gateway and the local community and gave a clear indication that they would listen to the local residents and be comfortable working with them. The presentation was very sincere and the team gave the impression that this would be a special project for them.
The panel especially liked the focus on using local consultants and constructors, and the opportunities that the latter would afford for young people in the area to gain apprenticeships and employment. The house plans were well designed and suitable for the BME community, and the team had obviously got a good grasp of the site which was reflected in a well presented analysis. The issue of parking was handled ingeniously by bringing the cars into the garden spaces.
Links:
- Architects’ Journal, 21 January 2010 (subscription required)
- RCKa project page
- Community Gateway Association
- RIBA Competitions Office
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