Alsop to draw up Croydon town centre designs

Rebel architect Will Alsop has been appointed by Croydon council to draw up future plans for the south London town centre.

Alsop’s practice, SMC Alsop, has beaten off competition from Ken Shuttleworth’s Make, Rem Koolhaas’ OMA and Olympic design team member EDAW to win the"visioning exercise" for Croydon town centre.

The contract is the practice’s first major visioning exercise in London, having done masterplans for several northern towns, including Bradford and Middlehaven. During a similar exercise for Barnsley, Alsop famously suggested that the former mining town should be rebranded as a Tuscan village.

The work will contribute to the area action plan for Croydon metropolitan centre, which has been identified as capable of accommodating thousands of homes as well as major developments.

To begin the visioning exercise, Alsop will give a talk in November to kick start the debate about what shape future development in Croydon should take.