Dar Group, Gpad London, Nicholas Hare and EPR make shortlist

Practices including Zaha Hadid Architects, AHMM and Hawkins Brown have fallen by the wayside in the competition to redesign Old Street Roundabout on London’s City fringe.

Contest organiser Islington Council yesterday announced it had whittled down a 39-proposal longlist to just four entries: Dar Group, which includes Perkins & Will; Gpad London; Nicholas Hare Architects and EPR Architects.

Zaha Hadid Architects and AHMM had vyed to land the redevelopment scheme.

The authority launched the call for ideas to reimagine the site in December, in conjunction with neighbour Hackney Council and pan-capital mayoral body Transport for London, which is due to end Old Street Roundabout’s days as a gyratory system next year.

Built in the 1960s and featuring a network of subways, shops and above-ground advertising, Old Street Roundabout is a totem for the capital’s tech community. Islington asked practices to come up with proposals for new public art and “smart city” innovation, at the same time as retaining the current high-profile advertising opportunities and accommodating infrastructure for Old Street Underground Station.

A proviso for the submissions was that they should be deliverable with a budget of £1m, unless teams could identify viable external funding.

Dar Group’s ’Old Street Circus 2050’ proposal envisages reclaiming the roundabout “for the people of London” and transforming it into a “genuinely useable, vibrant, healthy and safe public space hosting a wide-range of public, private and commercial activities such as film screenings, concerts, artwork, street-markets and festivals”.

Dar Group's Old Street Circus proposals for transforming London's Old Street Roundabout

Source: Dar Group

Dar Group’s Old Street Circus proposals, shortlisted by Islington Council in March 2018. The project team is Dar’s Landscape and Urban Design Team with Perkins & Will, Portland Design, Elementa Consulting, Currie & Brown, and Maffeis Engineering.

The team’s vision also includes a “longer-term” plan to incorporate a sculptural ring of light that brings together information and advertising, along with green infrastructure.

EPR Architects’ shortlisted scheme is named ‘The Iris’ and was created in conjunction with Hoxton-based artist Martin Richman, landscape artist Gillespies and consultants Entuitive and Materials Council. It is described as “a piece of metropolitan land art centring around a reflective lens facilitating interaction, inclusive gatherings, performances, play and relaxation”.

epr architects the iris

Source: EPR Architects

EPR Architects’ The Iris proposal for transforming Old Street Roundabout, shortlisted by Islington Council in March 2018. EPR’s project team includes: Martin Richman, Wayfindr, Modus Operandi, Gillespies, Entuitive, Materials Council and Stage One.

Gpad London’s ‘Old Street Digital Garden’ proposal, created in conjunction with 3D visualisation studio Eye-Kon, promises a forest of electricity-generating lights enveloping a new pavilion, a water feature and a “digital totem” that would host an automated cycle-parking structure behind advertising screens.

Gpad London's Old Street Digital Garden proposal

Source: Gpad London

Gpad London’s Old Street Digital Garden proposal for redesigning Old Street Roundabout. Islington Council shortlisted the design - created in conjunction with 3D visualisation studio Eye-Kon in March 2018.

Nicholas Hare Architects’ ‘Old Street Park’ proposals, drawn up with Price Myers, Hoare Lea, and FIRA, offers a “flexible, green, smart public space for cyclists, residents, workers and visitors” that pledges to “harnesses the social, environmental and economic aspirations of the area for the Old Street community”.

Nicholas Hare Architects' Old Street Park proposal

Source: Nicholas Hare Architects

Nicholas Hare Architects’ Old Street Park proposal for the redesign of London’s Old Street Roundabout. The scheme, shortlisted by Islington Council in March 2018, was created as part of a team including with Price Myers, Hoare Lea, and FIRA

The shortlisted designs were picked by a judging panel chaired by Islington’s environment and transport lead, Cllr Claudia Webbe, which featured Gehl Architects associate and UWE Bristol academic Allison Dutoit.

Webbe said Old Street had global recognition as a vibrant hub of technology and culture and that Islington’s ideas call had inspired many bold and exciting proposals.

Zaha Hadid Architects' proposals for Old Street Roundabout

Longlisted but not shortlisted: Zaha Hadid Architects’ proposals for Old Street Roundabout