The awards will be judged by a panel of 75 leading figures from across the creative industries. Further information about the awards judging panel can be found here

Julia Barfield will be judging the architecture awards. Julia’s profile can be viewed here

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The Footbridge Design Ideas Competition sought new ideas to help inform Network Rail in their design and installation of fully accessible pedestrian footbridges across the UK rail network.

The competition launched in June, 2018. It was an international competition open to architects, structural engineers, civil engineers, mixed teams together with students of these design disciplines. The competition attracted 121 submissions from competitors based in: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vietnam.

Marks Barfield Architects teamed up with COWI and came up with the following idea:

This new concept embraces modern construction techniques and material innovations already common place in automotive, marine and aero-space design to create beautifully sculpted & structurally efficient freeform structures.
Our concept utilizes the key properties of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP), high strength and low-weight, in hand with well-established off-site manufacturing processes and techniques, using contemporary design tools to optimize the efficiency of the design and present a modern alternative to steel or concrete.
Additionally, FRP is low maintenance, electrically non-conductive, and provides Class 1 fire resistance. It has less embodied energy, uses less water and causes less air pollution than concrete and steel manufacturing processes and the glass fibre reinforcement can be recycled for re-use.

The project images can be viewed here

The exhibition will be held at the RIBA. Additional information can be found here

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Conscious Cities Festival gathers those interested in the creation of people-centred environments. Research and practice using the conscious cities approach explores how architecture and urban design can better consider and respond to human needs through science informed design, data analysis and new technology.

This year’s festival looked at the key factors in creating a better built environment. The events over 4 days focused on architecture, urban design, urban data and tech, and behavioural science.

The focus of day 1 was architecture. Julia speaks about the role of the architect as an entrepreneur with a social responsibility. You can listen to Julia’s speech here.

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Congratulations to Hollandia Infra and the rest of the team.

The judges commented:
‘Many aspects of this project are impressive: the dimensions of the prefabricated cans, the installation method using the jacking tower, the weights, the bolting structures. This is the work of real masters. Both during the engineering stage as well as during the installation works.’

3rd Beach Landing on the 23rd June 2015.
Image by Kevin Meredith

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The Brighton DJ played 450ft above the beach to an audience of 120 in the i360 pod. The event sold out in just 60 seconds!

The unique event, organised by Cercle, can by viewed here

© Photography by Jake Davis (fb.com/hungryvisuals)

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The University of Cambridge Primary School opened in 2015 and is the first primary University Training School in the UK. This means that it provides teacher training and research as well as space for its 708 pupils.

The school achieved outstanding in all performance categories. The full report can be found here.

Headteacher James Biddulph has acknowledged ‘the building IS making a difference’. This is consistent with the initial intention that the architecture should be informed by the educational vision.

©Morley von Sternberg

©Morley von Sternberg

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This year, the Summer Exhibition’s architecture room has been selected by architect and Royal Academician Piers Gough. He intends to create a room full of architectural  models, encouraging architects to enter three dimensional works of all scales and sizes, from rough ideas to fully finished, in any medium.

Please click here for further information about the exhibition.

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Click here for the full article.

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The judges commented:

‘A triumph of innovation and a completely unique attraction. This slender tower and state of the art cable car technology continues Brighton’s tradition of expressing identity through remarkable architecture.’

Left to right: Kirstie Allsopp; Steve Bax executive director BAi360; Emily Bamber PR & Communications Manager BAi360; Denis Wormwell chairman of the VisitEngland Advisory Board).
Photo credits: Visit Britain/ Gary Summers

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Each evening after twilight and the starling murmation, subtle white lights installed on the British Airways i360 boarding deck are directed at the West Pier until midnight.

The lighting system has been designed by Do Architecture, the same practice that created the British Airways tower lighting system. The system uses low amounts of energy and requires little maintenance. The specialist marine LED technology uses sophisticated lenses which create a series of intense and focused beams of light.

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The scheme has been selected as one of 45 national and international finalists from 234 applicants and will receive an award or commendation at the awards ceremony in March.

The Civic Trust Awards scheme recognises outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment and commends projects that have made a positive contribution to the local communities that they serve. The full list of winners can be found here

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The scheme firstly won the Award for Tall or Slender Structures. This was awarded for structural engineering excellence in projects where height or slenderness presented a particular structural challenge in the design and construction.

The judges then selected a scheme for the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence from the twelve principal award categories. British Airways i360 by Jacobs was the finest example of excellence in structural engineering design.

The judges commented:

”An illustration of the art and science of the structural engineer working to produce a result that delights at all levels”

The full list of winners can be found here

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This award recognises the use of outstanding innovation in designing a project. Here are a few of the points considered by the judges:

– How have specific innovations and design elements made a positive contribution to the project overall?

– How have innovative technology and construction methods been used to enhance the project?

– Has the scheme acted as a catalyst for further economic activity in the area?

The judges commented:

‘The project pushes the boundaries of technical innovation and has aided the regeneration of Brighton’s seafront.’

The full list of winners can be found here

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The mixed use development will contain office space alongside 17 homes, cafes, restaurants and shops. A potential new health centre may also be provided. The upcycled building will deliver an increase of 5,000 sq m GEA on the site, split between the various uses.

Stephenson House has been designed to promote wellbeing, embracing circadian design principles with an abundance of glare-controlled natural daylight. The building will be filled with gardens and planting alongside office space, with a “forest floor” to the atrium spilling into the reception of the building.

A feature stair in the new atrium will encourage occupiers to walk between floors and promote chance encounters as people move through the building. Biophilic features,

including double-height pocket gardens between floors and greened roof terraces, will provide moments for informal working and reflection, alongside interaction and breakout spaces. Natural materials that meet the highest BRE Green Guide ratings will be specified wherever possible.

Responding to the hierarchy of the streets, the extensively glazed façades of the proposed building will feature a mix of natural stone on the Hampstead Road elevation and warm coloured brick on Drummond Street. Bronzed metal will be applied to details throughout. A feature will be made of a full-height glazed “lantern” façade on the corner of Drummond Street and Hampstead Road, with an eye catching three-dimensional pleated pattern of glass panels that will highlight the building, and visually connect to the Tottenham Court Road and the West End beyond. Retail units and cafes will occupy the ground floor of the building, creating meeting places for the public and building occupants.

The retrofit will create 17 homes on the site comprised of 11 homes for market, and 6 for affordable rent. The proposed homes account for 50% of the planned increase in floor area (GEA) on the site. The existing NHS clinic already established on the site will also be offered premises within the new building.

Ian Rudolph, Marks Barfield Architects Practice Director has said:

“In its current guise, Stephenson House is an outdated building that contributes poorly to Hampstead Road and Drummond Street. Our proposal upgrades it to a high-quality mixed use development that has been designed with the intention to prioritise wellbeing, by ‘greening’ with gardens both internally and externally, at the same time as improving the quality of the streetscape.

“The development will be flooded with natural light and filled with gardens to provide a working environment that is unrivalled – something entirely appropriate for Euston’s status as a major destination within London, spurred by the growth and investment that HS2 has begun to bring.”

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This was awarded to a project that the judges considered to be particularly inspirational.

The project was awarded because of its innovative engineering and funding. The slenderest tower in the world, with a height to width ratio of 40:1, has a funding package which allows Brighton & Hove City Council to earn almost £1M a year from its visitors. The tower comprises 17 stacked “cans”, which were jacked into position in 10 weeks.

The judges commented:

”Proof that designers can be clients interested in financial performance and efficiency as well as design quality.”

Touchingly, the room gave a huge round of applause in David’s memory. A special night indeed.

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David spent his last days at home with his family, his partner in life and work, Julia Barfield: and their children Benjamin, Maya and Sarah.

David was an architect whose work was founded in innovation, excellence of design and close collaboration with other disciplines, in particular with engineers. He believed that well designed buildings and structures can improve the quality of people’s lives. He leaves a legacy of much loved landmarks, including the London Eye, the Treetop Walkway at Kew and the British Airways i360 in Brighton, which demonstrate his belief in the human spirit and his wish to elevate minds as well as the spirit. He transformed skylines, and his vision will continue to offer inspiration and delight to future generations.

David was born on 15 December 1952 in Stockholm, Sweden and grew up in Geneva in Switzerland. He moved to London in 1972 to attend the Architectural Association School where he met Julia Barfield, a fellow student and close neighbour, soon after. The pair married in 1981.

David studied under Keith Critchlow at the AA School and began his career working in the office of Lord Richard Rogers, but the defining creative relationship of his life was with Julia Barfield, with whom he collaborated throughout his studies and professional career.

The couple spent their year out while at the AA in South America, including 7 months together in Lima, Peru, helping to design a community centre and housing systems for an emerging Barriada settlement. On their return to the UK they alternated between collaboration and individual careers until forming their own practice, Marks Barfield Architects, in 1989.

David and Julia are best known as the architects and entrepreneurs that conceived, designed, and developed the London Eye on London’s Southbank. Initiated as an unsuccessful entry to a Sunday Times ideas competition, it was David and Julia’s tenacity that ensured that the project was realised. The pair found the site, obtained planning consent, mortgaged their home to meet the initial costs and steered the project through to reality. The London Eye opened in 2000. Today, 17 years later, it has attracted over 60 million visitors.

In 2016 David and Julia repeated the success of their London Eye venture with the completion of British Airways i360 in Brighton, the world’s tallest moving observation tower. The project received a RIBA National Award in 2017, one of a host of professional honours conferred on the design.

Throughout his life, David was enchanted by feats of engineering. Inspired by great Victorian engineers, builders and entrepreneurs such as Brunel, Richard Turner and Decimus Burton’s Palm House at Kew and Eugenius Birch, who designed, financed and built Brighton West Pier on what would become the site of BAi360, David sought to expand the role of the architect through greater collaboration with the disciplines of finance and engineering.

David’s belief in the power of architecture to have a transformative effect on civic life and his determination to finish what he started made him fearless in taking responsibility for projects. With Julia’s support he took a share of the financial risk of projects, and dedicated time and effort to driving them forward. David formed close partnerships with expert collaborators, investors and civic leaders throughout his career in order to broaden his agency as an architect and leader.

He and Julia have been committed to maximising the social benefit derived from their work. In addition to the section 106 obligations required by Lambeth Council, David and Julia initiated the decision to grant 1% of London Eye ticket sales to the local community in perpetuity, to pay for improvements to the local area. Jubilee Gardens, a public park on the South Bank in London, is just one of the projects that benefits from these funds.

BAi360 in Brighton makes the same commitment. BA i360 was part-funded through a loan facilitated by the City Council, so that in the first year of operation, £1.8 million of the company’s revenues were used by the Council to finance local regeneration schemes including the landscaping of spaces either side of the attraction.

David was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year honours list in 2000 and was given a Special Commendation for Outstanding Achievement in Design for Business and Society by the Prince Philip Designers Prize in the same year. He was chairman of the Waterloo Project Board between 2002 and 2007: a £19 million regeneration programme that helped to bring about tangible improvements to everyday life for local residents, employees, and community organisations in London SE1. He was presented with a Civic Award by the Mayor of Lambeth in 2011.

Marks Barfield Architects will continue under the leadership of Julia Barfield and the team of Directors: Ian Rudolph, Gemma Collins, Ian Crockford and Magali Thomson. In the past months, the Directors have worked with David and Julia to ensure a smooth succession for the future of the practice.

The wider work of Marks Barfield Architects includes a great diversity of projects such as the Kew Gardens Treetop walkway; infrastructure projects and bridges; schools, including the recently completed University of Cambridge Primary School; art galleries and museums; commercial buildings and housing. Amongst other projects, Marks Barfield Architects is currently working with Tim Winter to construct a new Mosque in Cambridge, which is currently on-site and due to complete in late 2018.

David was Chairman of Brighton i360 ltd, which owns and operates the British Airways i360. His role as Chair will pass to Julia Barfield and the attraction will continue to operate under the remaining board of directors and the executive directorship of Steve Bax and his management team.

David’s funeral will take place at a private ceremony, with details of a memorial to be announced in due course.

Speaking to the Sunday Times in July 2016, David Marks made the following comment:

“Architects don’t stop, they just go on building things until they run out of breath. Julia and I never get sick of each other. We’ve been married for 35 years and I can’t put into words how much I love her — it’s a mystery. And you know, it’s OK for it to remain a mystery. Some things are just like that.”

Photography: British Airways i360/ Gary Eastwood

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The shortlisted projects can be viewed here.

Jury visits will take place between September- October. The judges will be looking at ways in which the project has exceeded the brief, how it has promoted client or community engagement and how it has excelled in the use of space or sense of place. All winners will be revealed in December.

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The shortlisted projects within this category can be viewed here

Shortlisted projects will be presented to an international jury in Berlin. Winners of their category will then re-present to a super- jury who will decide which two projects should be named World Building or Future Project of the Year. Winners will be announced in November.

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The judging panel commented:

”Brilliant concept, brilliant execution. An iconic statement that helps to define Brighton & Hove as a distinctive city. The vertical pier concept works well and the restaurant facilities even framed the former West Pier beautifully. Magnificent élan, great style and panache. A delight to experience.”

We are delighted on behalf of the entire team!

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The judging panel commented:

”This unusual structure was a remarkable showcase for how innovation can meet and overcome challenges. There were 16 different product developments/ innovations in the project ranging from funding to using fluid dynamics to ensure the stability of this unique tower which has gained its place in the Guinness Records as the world’s most slender tower.”

The project will be entered into the National Constructing Excellence Awards which takes place in November.

A huge well done to the entire team!

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