From buses repurposed to serve the homeless to a collaborative community space in Redcar and a launderette-cum-library, 12 projects that involved local people and improved environments have reached the penultimate round of the award
Getting to a shortlist from this year’s 32 MacEwen Awards longlisted projects was no small task for the five-strong panel of judges at the end of last year. So many projects had all the attributes of architecture for the common good that the judges look for. This can include any manner of things; social, environmental, economic, or any other aspect. All, however, must be proactive, with a project-appropriate approach and architectural ingenuity. Longlisted projects fluttered back and forth in and out of the shortlisted schemes.
In the end, the judges settled on 12 shortlisted schemes that present a fantastic array of projects across the UK. There is a street greening project designed by MMAS with OGU Architects in Belfast, two converted London buses transformed by tp bennett to provide services to people living on the streets in east London and a new church designed by Chance da Silva built and led by the community in Redcar, Yorkshire. Elsewhere we have four schemes in the south-west: Outside, a part farm, part leisure facility, part workspace in Devon designed by IDK; Wraxall Yard by Clementine Blakemore Architects; Jubilee Pool, Penzance given a new lease of life by Scott Whitby Studio; and Invisible Studio’s quirky Watchet project, a hub for both the community and visitors in west Somerset.
Thank you to this year’s judges Takeshi Hayatsu, founder of Hayatsu Architects, Joan Kerr, BDP Birmingham architect associate, Kathy MacEwen, planner and daughter of Malcolm and Anni MacEwen who the prize is named after and Anthony Staples, associate at RCKa and MacEwen Award 2021 winner for Nourish Hub.
MacEwen Awards 2023 full shortlist (click on the links for judges’ citations):
Educational
NUCastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Ryder Architecture for Newcastle United Foundation
Lewisham Zero Carbon Schools: Dalmain, Downderry, Myatt Garden, Torridon and St Winifred’s primary schools, Lewisham, London, by Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT) for Dalmain Primary School
Community support
St Hilda's, Redcar, by Chance de Silva for Kirkleatham Parochial Church Council
Driving for Change at St Martin’s Le Grand in the City of London, Hackney Town Hall and Gillett Square in Dalston, by tp bennett for Change Please
Urban regeneration
The Adelaide Street Project, Belfast, by OGU Architects + MMAS for Belfast City Council
Spark Lab Ilford, London, by Jan Kattein Architects for Redbridge Council
Workplace and social enterprise
FC Designer Workspace, Finsbury Park, London, by Studio Partington for Fashion-Enter Limited
East Quay, Watchet, West Somerset, by Invisible Studio for Onion Collective CIC
Rural revitalisation
Outside, Bantham, Devon, by IDK for Outside
Wraxall Yard, West Dorset, by Clementine Blakemore Architects for Wraxall Yard
Heritage renewal
Jubilee Pool, Penzance, Cornwall, by Scott Whitby Studio for Jubilee Pool Penzance