4 August 2015
A proposed scheme of self build homes has won an architectural competition that aimed to generate ideas for a derelict island site in Leicester.
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Sarah Wigglesworth Architects’ (SWA’s) proposals for a mixed-use scheme including low-impact living, self build homes – alongside more traditional dwellings, small businesses, open space and woodland – on Soar Island was chosen from a shortlist of five by a panel of judges assessing entries to the RIBA-organised competition in partnership with Leicester City Council.
London-based SWA Architects – who win a £5,000 award – said: “The vision for our project, which combines housing, work and leisure activities, is for a new city quarter set apart but connected to the town. It proposes an environment where wildlife and humans coexist in a sustainable landscape surrounded by water, supported by an economy based on low-impact living and working.
“Self build is something that we’ve been interested in for a while and we believed the nature of the site – and the fact that City Council wanted to do something a little bit different with it – provided a good opportunity to include homes delivered in this way.”
RIBA Adviser and judging panel chair Glenn Howells of Glenn Howells Architects said: “We were delighted by the response to the competition, both by the range of ideas and the quality of thinking about how the site could transform this important part of the city. SWA’s ideas stood out from the other entries because their proposal was diverse and rich, integrating heritage, landscape, ecology, and architecture together with a range of activities that could draw people to the site and create a strong identity for the riverside area as well as the island itself.”
The four other shortlisted practices were London-based Ash Sakula, Gutiérrez-Delafuente Arquitectos of Spain, Kraft.Raum of Germany and London-based drummond.lawlor.
