Atlantic Road, Brixton.
The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) has partnered with Lambeth Council and Brixton Business Improvement District (BID) on a design competition which invites architects, designers and artists to submit a proposal for an intervention at two public spaces in the centre of Brixton: Atlantic Road and Windrush Square.
This competition, called ‘People at the Centre of Brixton’, asks applicants to re-imagine these key sites and test alternative scenarios that will improve the experience of businesses, residents and visitors to Brixton, and propose solutions for how these common spaces could be used and inhabited in the future, becoming open, safe and accessible to all. Though temporary, this commission is driven by an eagerness to re-imagine spaces in Brixton with an improved pedestrian experience and should test solutions which have potential to influence the future. The interventions will be activated by a series of community-led events for LFA 2023.
Both sites nod to Brixton’s rich cultural and historical past; home to the Windrush Generation, the Uprising in 1981, radical thinkers and activities which have shaped generations. The design proposal for the site-specific intervention should respond to this year’s LFA theme ‘In Common’, which aims to spark discussion and debate about the role that historical common land plays in our urban environment. At the same time ‘In Common’ looks forward, hoping to generate creative ideas fueled by our collective desires for an equitable, equal and sustainable future.
For the first stage of this competition, interested applicants are invited to submit their proposals by 12pm on 2nd March.
These submissions will be shortlisted by the judging panel and then shortlisted applicants will be supported in developing their design. A winning team will be confirmed in April and awarded £27,000 + VAT (which includes a £4,000 design fee) to develop a fully costed, feasible design that can be delivered in June and activated over the long weekend of 8th – 11th June.
VIEW THE OPEN CALL HERE (WORD)
Rosa Rogina, Director of the London Festival of Architecture, said:
“We are thrilled to be working with Brixton for LFA 2023. Brixton is an area that holds an extraordinary creative community and historical value. This competition is particularly exciting as both Atlantic Road and Windrush Square offer huge potential as locations that can be reimagined to benefit diverse communities – whether they are residents or visiting.”
Cllr Donatus Anyanwu, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Lambeth Council, said:
“Taking part in this project will give our local residents, as well as visitors to our borough, a great opportunity to appreciate and learn more about the area’s fascinating architecture and soak up our local culture. It is an opportunity for people to have their say about the future of the area and its public spaces, testing change in a creative way. Coupled with this years’ hugely significant Windrush 75 anniversary, which also takes place in June, this project will guarantee a fun, thought provoking and culturally packed June for Brixton.”
Gianluca Rizzo, Managing Director, Brixton BID, said:
“Brixton is like nowhere else. With something to do day and night, we are proud of our markets, streets and venues. This design competition is an opportunity for creatives to enhance people’s experience of Brixton by reimagining two cultural significant places like Atlantic Road and Windrush Square.”
