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News

Wansey Street design wins award

30 November 2006

Southwark Council tenants have helped architects scoop a design award for pioneering work on the Elephant and Castle regeneration project.

The de Rijke Marsh Morgan's designs for Southwark Council's Heygate replacement homes have won Best Public Housing in the Building Design Architect of the Year 2006 awards.

And that means the tenants are celebrating too, because they helped shape the design process which led to such quality homes. One of the aims behind the entire Elephant regeneration programme is to focus on strong public consultation, and by including local people at every stage, the borough ends up with quality homes that people want to live in.

The judges said the building on Wansey Street, Elephant and Castle, was 'beautiful; an exceptional form with a textured and vibrant coloured facade'. Additionally, the building has an EcoHomes rating of excellent.

According to the judges, dRMM has introduced a courageous new approach to public housing, and by naming the practice Public Housing Architect of the Year, the judges said they hope to send a clear message to other firms in this sector on the way forward.

The striking red and orange building highlights the council’s determination to deliver impressive new housing for residents moving out of the 1960s Heygate, which will be demolished in 2009 as part of the £1.5bn regeneration scheme.

Cllr Richard Thomas, Southwark Council's executive member for regeneration, said: "The award shows that the industry is just as impressed with the Wansey Street development as the people who will live in it.

“Heygate tenants were involved in the design process, so they too can be proud that their input has led to an award-winning building. And hopefully this is just the start - we believe that by the middle of next year, together we will have shaped 15 first class housing schemes that Heygate residents will be proud to live in.’’

A spokesman for dRMM Studio said: "The redevelopment of the Heygate estate through the Elephant & Castle regeneration framework promises to revitalise the area over the next decade, resulting in a mixed-use residential neighbourhood of diverse community. dRMM’s Wansey Street housing sets a new standard, raising the bar for quality, style and sustainability in social housing design."

Southwark Council, its five housing association partners and Heygate tenants are now in the process of developing the fifteen housing schemes that will replace the Heygate. All housing sites are located around Elephant and Castle, a reflection of Heygate residents’ aspirations to stay in the local area.

Following extensive public consultation, the council hopes that all schemes will have planning approval by summer 2007 and most Heygate tenants can move from the estate by the end of 2008.