Architects appointed for Library Street housing

In a drive to ensure striking urban design and architecture through the Elephant and Castle's ten-year redevelopment, Southwark Council separated the housing association and architectural procurement processes.

A panel of sixteen small to medium sized architectural practices were shortlisted to form a competition panel, and three architects pitched designs for each of the sixteen sites to a panel of council officers, Heygate residents and the council's housing association partners, Family Mosaic, Affinity Sutton, London and Quadrant, Guinness Trust and Wandle.

In the final round of competition the successful architects were:
• The AOC: Stead Street site 4 (Crown Terrace) & Stead Street site 2 (Rodney Road)
• Haworth Tompkins: Stead Street site 1
• Panter Hudspith: Stead Street site 3
• Metaphorm Architecture and Design: Library Street

The Library Street site – currently occupied by the local housing office and Bankside Open Spaces Trust's Diversity Garden – has been a controversial choice for the development of 46 housing units.

The planning inspector who examined Southwark's new Unitary Development Plan (UDP) recommended that the site be struck off the list of sites for Heygate replacement housing, but this view was rejected by the council.

"Southwark takes great pride in delivering world-class urban design that works for local people, whether for new buildings or public spaces," says Cllr Richard Thomas, executive member for regeneration.

"We've put a huge amount of time and effort into this programme and the results so far fully justify our commitment."

28 Heygate residents have been involved in the process of selecting architects to design their new homes. The selected designs will now go forward as planning applications.

The council hopes that all schemes will have planning approval in 2007 and most Heygate tenants can move from the estate by the end of 2008.