The transformation of the 2012 Olympic Village into East Village (pictured above) has scooped the award for planning excellence at this year’s London Planning Awards.
The project, which created almost 3,000 private rented sector homes, also took the Best New Place to Live award at the City Hall ceremony tonight.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson praised the scheme for setting exemplar standards of design, sustainability and accessibility, while providing all the amenities needed to support thriving communities.
“It is hard to believe that less than two years ago, East Village was home to superstars Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis and David Weir as they prepared to do battle at the London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games,” he said.
“Since then, the area has been transformed out of all recognition into one of London’s newest neighbourhoods, boasting a range of high-quality housing choices for Londoners.”
Alastair Smart, head of development and project management at The Crown Estate, was one of the ten winners on the night, taking the accolade of London Planning Person of the Year.
Judges praised his leadership of the team responsible for the £1.5bn transformation of a large portion of the West End.
The annual London Planning Awards are jointly run by the mayor and London First, the Royal Town Planning Institute, and London councils.
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
THE WINNERS
CATEGORY 1: BEST BUILT PROJECT Sponsored by CBRE
Winner: The North East Quadrant (Borough of Camden) for its dramatic transformation of a challenging brownfield site into a vibrant hub of activity, and its improvement of the area as a whole (pictured below)
CATEGORY 2: BEST BUILT PROJECT – COMMUNITY SCALE Sponsored by Land Securities
Winner: The Glass Mill, Lewisham, a state of the art community leisure centre, for its transformational impact on the wider area, benefits to the local community, design and ingenuity (pictured below)
Commended: Van Gogh Walk for the inspirational level of local involvement and community ownership the scheme achieved
CATEGORY 3: BEST CONCEPTUAL PROJECT Sponsored by Berwin Leighton Paisner
Winner: Copley Close in Ealing for its careful, sensitive and responsive approach to estate renewal. The strategy addresses many of the issues resulting from the poor original layout of the estates while avoiding unnecessary disruption to the existing community (pictured below)
Commended: Pop-up HAWSE for its innovative, challenging and topical exploration of short-term homelessness (pictured below)
CATEGORY 4: BEST NEW PLACE TO LIVE
Winner: East Village for its scale, quality and understated innovation (pictured at top of page)
CATEGORY 5: BEST NEW PUBLIC SPACE Sponsored by Hogan Lovells
Winner: Brown Hart Gardens for its ingenuity and historical sensitivity. In the heart of Mayfair, this eccentric new public square is located on the roof of a Grade II-listed substation (pictured below)
Commended: Van Gogh Walk for its duplicability and community involvement
CATEGORY 6: BEST BUILT PROJECT FIVE YEARS ON Sponsored by GVA
Winner: Royal Festival Hall for its subtle yet transformative impact on the South Bank as a whole and its revitalising effect on the complex multi-level building to improve the public realm
Commended: Spitalfields Market for its retention of some of the spirit of the more quirky east London retail offer and its careful management of the historical East End fabric
CATEGORY 7: BEST HISTORIC BUILDING MANAGEMENT Sponsored by English Heritage
Two winners:
Winner: Restoring Roehampton’s Heritage for carefully coordinating the restoration of a number of heritage assets in the Roehampton, bringing them back into use and using them as triggers for the area’s wider regeneration.
Winner: The William Morris Gallery and Gardens, which involved the refurbishment of the William Morris Gallery to create new displays, research rooms, staff offices and a new tea room and exhibition space. It also included the refurbishment of the gardens around the gallery back to their former glory
CATEGORY 8: BEST TOWN CENTRE PROJECT Sponsored by Turley Associates
Winner: Woolwich Squares for its subtle yet transformative changes to the way Woolwich town centre works, including the provision of a large supermarket, 960 residential units and new civic offices (pictured below)
CATEGORY 9: LONDON PLANNING PERSON OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Edelman
Winner: Alastair Smart, head of development and project management, The Crown Estates, for leading the team responsible for the £1.5bn transformation of a large portion of the West End, ensuring the Crown Estate is in safe hands
CATEGORY 10: MAYOR’S AWARD FOR PLANNING EXCELLENCE
Winner: East Village: not only for creating a new high-quality neighbourhood in east London, but for its approach to housing delivery, its simple and replicable design, its scale and its overall quality
