MacMillian Park, Pic; GLA
East London has once again been recognised for its contribution to making London a great place to live in, after scooping two awards in Tower Hamlets and Lewisham at the ninth annual London Planning Awards.
St Paul’s Way Trust School in Tower Hamlets and the Margaret McMillan Park in Lewisham were both awarded for their excellence in urban planning and design.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Once again we have seen yet another stunning crop of entries that showcase the best in urban planning, architecture and design.
“They demonstrate a wonderful ambition to make our city an even better place to live, work and study.”
The London Planning Awards are jointly run by the Mayor of London, the Royal Planning Institute, and London councils. The purpose of the awards is to give credit to the organisations and professionals who have contributed to improving the quality of life in the capital.
St Paul’s Way Trust School won the award for the Best Built Project – Community Scale Scheme.
It was designed by London-based architectural studio Astudio, and constructed by Bouygues UK. It took 36 months to complete and cost a total of £36 million. It is part of the Building Schools for the Future programme.
In 2010, the school’s innovative design was nominated for a World Architecture News Award.
Richard Haynes, the director of Astudio told EastLondonLines: “This project was a unique opportunity to have a vast impact on the lives of many students. We were lucky to have headteacher, Grahame Price, and a client group that supported the vision and positively encouraged us to deliver a ground breaking learning environment.”
The scheme was funded by the Tower Hamlets Council, Partnerships for Schools and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
St Paul’s Way Trust School is situated in a deprived area of Tower Hamlets. The school was designed to serve as a multi-functional building, with facilities including a library, auditorium, and a sports hall.
The Margaret McMillan Park in Deptford, won the award for the Best New Public Space. The park was recently redesigned by award-winning design practice BDP, and landscape and maintenance contractor The Landscape Group.
Neil Farmer, Business Development Manager for the Landscape Group said: “The Landscape Group are pleased to be associated with a scheme that has been so successfully received by the local community. The award is a tribute to the vision and planning by both the client and lead designer BDP.”
The park was refurbished in 2010 to become more accessible and inviting to people from the local community. It was transformed to integrate the existing equipment within the new design, which includes custom-designed wooden sculptures by sculptor Richard Lawrence.
It has also won numerous awards for its design, including the Urban Green Space category in the Local Government News 2011 Street Design Awards.
