Kingston Council is delighted to announce that a design team formed of Hayatsu Architects, Hortus Collective and 121 Collective have won the ‘A Gateway to New Malden’ competition.
In partnership with the London Festival of Architecture, an exhibition of the six shortlisted designs was hosted last month, as well as an online survey. A jury of industry experts, community stakeholders, and the council then used the local feedback received and other success criteria to choose the winning scheme.
The team’s design, “Unearthing New Malden”, was judged to provide the best solution to enhance the green space at the Fountain Roundabout, increase biodiversity and access to nature, and create an inclusive and attractive public space for the town centre that celebrates New Malden’s character, culture, and heritage.
The design team will continue to engage with the local community as they finalise designs for the space, and the council is aiming for work to start on-site next year.
 Hayatsu Architects is an architecture practice led by Takeshi Hayatsu, a senior architecture lecturer at Kingston University, where many of the team at 121 Collective, based in Tolworth, studied. Their extensive local and community knowledge is joined by Hortus Collective, an emerging landscape design practice based in East Sussex and Sheffield.
Cllr Lesley Heap, chair of New and Old Malden Neighbourhood, said:
“We were delighted to receive so many high-quality submissions as part of the design competition, and thank you to those who let us know their feedback as part of our initial engagement last month.
Exciting schemes like this help improve our public spaces and bring life into our high streets. As a council, we are focused on placing history and heritage at the heart of our regeneration projects, which is why it’s lovely that we’ll be working with a local design team that understands the uniqueness of New Malden and our vibrant community.
This certainly isn’t the end of the process, and we look forward to continuing engagement with local residents and businesses to create a space that we can all benefit from and that truly displays the pride we feel for our town.”
Pat Dobson, director at Kingston Environment Centre and member of the ‘A Gateway to New Malden’ judging jury, said:
“I was impressed by the high standard and professionalism of all the teams who presented their ideas and detailed plans to the panel. It was great to see so many local residents taking part in the public consultation both in person and online and giving their views on the future plans.
As someone who has helped maintain the space outside Kingston Environment Centre for several years, I am very pleased with the winning design in that the ‘berms’ will provide an effective screen from the busy road, existing planting will be maintained, and materials used will be as sustainable as possible. I look forward to the transformation of this space, and Kingston Environment Centre Directors will support in whatever way we can.”
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