McCloud names grand designers

David Chipperfield Architects, Wright & Wright and DSDHA were all shortlisted for McCloud’s company’s first development, a 150-200 unit scheme on a local authority site in the West Country, in February.

Building understands that all the teams will work with McCloud’s company, Happiness Architecture Beauty, in the near future, even though it has not yet been confirmed that all three will work on the first scheme.

It is understood that McCloud has not yet found a site for the first development and that the original deadline to submit designs for planning by August 2007 will be missed.

The project will be filmed from start to finish by TalkBack Thames, the production company behind the programme Grand Designs, on which McCloud made his name. This will then be shown on Channel 4.

We visited eight of the practices, spending half a day in their offices

HAB Housing Statement

The three were chosen from a longlist of eight, which included Edward Cullinan Architects and an up-and-coming practice called Flacq, which has been shortlisted to design the velopark for the 2012 Olympics.

A statement from HAB Housing said: “We visited eight of the practices, spending half a day in their offices to get a fuller picture about the way they worked, then established a list of three.”

Deborah Saunt, DSDHA founder, already works with McCloud as an “architectural expert” on Grand Designs. Property services company Colliers CRE is identifying development partners and sites and environmental consultant BioRegional Quintain is advising on green issues.