Barking Town Square London : Architecture

6 May 2008 Barking Town Square wins 5th European Prize for Urban Public Space Barking Town Square, designed by muf architecture/art has been declared winner of the 5th European Prize for Urban Public Space, making it the first project in Britain to receive the prestigious prize. The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial prize awarded to projects which foster the process of recovering the public dimension of urban spaces in Europe, as well as their capacity for social inclusion and democracy-building in our cities. Barking Town Square was selected by the prize’s jury from 176 entries from locations in 26 European countries. The jury applauded the creative collaboration between muf architecture/art, London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Redrow Regeneration and Allford Hall Monaghan and Morris, commending muf’s scheme for incorporating multiple architectural languages to enhance the new development, creating a place of distinctive character. Councillor Sid Kallar MBE, executive member for regeneration, said: “I am absolutely delighted by this award as it places Barking and Dagenham firmly on the international map. The development of Barking Town Square has been an integral part of the regeneration of the borough as a whole, and it is extremely gratifying that our efforts, and those of muf architecture/art, have been acknowledged in this way.” Liza Fior, muf architecture/art said: "We are delighted that Barking Town Square has been awarded this accolade. The ambition is to mix mystery and utility. We are now half way through the project and the close working and collaboration continues”. Barking Town Square, one of Design for London’s 100 Public Spaces, is a truly civic and mixed ensemble of buildings and uses, a place where a town hall, a library, a University of East London presence, the one stop shop, a child and primary health centre, a major public art commission, approximately 500 new homes, retail and cafes. All of these facilities come together around a 6000 sqm ‘T’ shaped square which comprises four interlocking elements; a civic square, an arboretum, a folly wall and an arcade. The Town Hall Square is the centre-piece of the scheme. It is furnished with pale pink stretch benches each 6 metres long on a floor of pink Spanish Granite, providing a civic space where new and existing communities can meet. The folly wall encloses the square by introducing a fourth elevation onto the square, completing the urban composition of Town Hall and new library and learning building. It recovers the texture of the lost historic fabric of the town centre. Ffeaturing 19th Century architectural salvage built by master bricklayers and apprentices of Barking College and planted with indigenous species it stands as a memento-mori to this current cycle of regeneration. The Arcade runs beneath the new library and housing development on the East of the square, providing access to a café on the ground floor. It is paved in black and white tiles that refer to both grandeur of arcades and the paths of the London’s Edwardian villas and illuminated by dramatic ‘diamond light’ chandeliers. Arboretum: The next phase of the project consists of an extensive arboretum adjacent to the Arcade, which will be unveiled in May 2009. The arboretum will comprise 40 mature trees of 16 different species arranged to create settings of different scales and character, which invite exploration, performance and play. Play will not be ring fenced here but instead fostered through: - the occasional miniaturization of street furniture - hiding spaces - artifice whereby cast tree branches and stacked tree trunks form balustrades and walls, - literary reference and landscapes for role play The arboretum will be illuminated by suspended chandeliers; the intensity of the light will adjust with the seasons and respond to the changing colour of the leaves. London Architect Studios Design : muf architecture/art Barking Central The European Prize for Urban Public Space is organized by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), the Architecture Foundation, London (AF), the Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W), la Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine of Paris, the Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo of Helsinki (SRM) and the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut of Rotterdam (NAI). Members of the jury included: Manuel de Solà-Morales, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB); Ole Bouman, Director of the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut (NAi); Dietmar Steiner, Director of Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W); Francis Rambert, Director of the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine of Paris; Rowan Moore, Director of the Architecture Foundation (London); Severi Blomstedt, Director of the Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo (SRM)