Midland Road Design Competition
Brighter Places has announced BDP as the winner of their design competition with Bristol Housing Festival for their Midland Road Site in Bristol’s Old Market Quarter. Read the announcement in the Architects Journal.
The judges liked many aspects of BDP’s design including the curved section of the building that echoes local architecture, the resident garden space that creates planting areas, the consideration of mechanical and electrical servicing and a design that accommodates Passivhaus principles.
BDP will now work alongside Brighter Places and local stakeholders to develop the design further ahead of submitting a full planning application in 2023.
A shortlist of five firms were announced in the Architects Journal at the end of September 2023: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), Alec French Architects, BDP, Ferguson Mann Architects and Pick Everard. The firms will now develop their ideas further with Brighter Places and local stakeholders before the stage 2 deadline in November.
The winner will be announced the first half of December.
About the competition
The competition invited local architects to submit innovative and solutions-focused proposals for a 100% affordable development of exceptional quality that complements the local area and is as climate smart as possible to reduce costs for residents and help support the city’s climate goals.
They recognised that this is a tall order and are looking for more than just a beautiful design, but the application of advanced problem-solving skills to create a flagship scheme to showcase what’s possible in our city.
Local architects within the West of England Combined Authority area were invited to enter.
MEET THE TEAM
Brighter Places was established in 2021 through the merger of United Communities and Solon South West. This launched a new phase in a proud history of social housing in Bristol and surrounding areas. They manage 3,300 homes. The creation of Brighter Places will lead to a greater investment in existing and new homes in the city. It also builds on a proud legacy of civil rights resistance, community activism and co-operative associations that dates to the 1960s.
The competition will be managed and stage 1 anonymised by Bristol Housing Festival.
TIMELINE AND STAGES
17th July
Competition launch.
31st July
Meet the team information webinar and Q&A at 10:00. Register here.
31st August
The competition closes at 5pm.
Stage 2 – The Shortlist
Following the closing date, a shortlist of three designers will be commissioned to develop their ideas further. This will also include an element of community engagement and feedback from relevant stakeholders.
The aim is to select a winner from the shortlist the week of the 4th December.
The Winner
The winning entry will then negotiate an appointment with Brighter Places to take the scheme to RIBA Stage 3 and full planning submission.
