Ross Pavilion International Design Competition winning concept design shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival
The winning competition concept design for the proposed re-imagining of Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens is on the ‘Culture – Future Project’ shortlist at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) taking place in Amsterdam this week.
The Malcolm Reading Consultants-run competition resulted in the international collaboration led by US-based design practice wHY and Edinburgh-based design studio GRAS being selected for the project, which is managed by the Ross Development Trust (RDT).
The wHY/GRAS team is one of only two UK-project finalists in the category, which includes sixteen global entries. For further details of the shortlist please see: https://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/culture-future-project
The World Architecture Festival is dedicated to celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture. The awards are a key part of the festival, and this is the only global awards programme where architects present their completed buildings and future projects live to a panel of internationally renowned judges from around the world.
David Ellis, Managing Director of the Ross Development Trust, said:
“We are thrilled that the vision for West Princes Street Gardens has been acknowledged in this way. It is a prestigious competition and to reach the final stages is an endorsement for our wonderful design team. Our intention when launching the design competition was to engage with the best architectural minds across the world, to create a vision that would be internationally recognisable. We are therefore delighted to be considered amongst such fantastic global competition.”
Gunnar Groves-Raines, member of the design team, said:
“It’s a great honour to be shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival awards and incredibly rewarding to see the Ross Pavilion proposals celebrated on an international stage.
“The result is testament to the ambition of the project and the Ross Development Trust’s ongoing commitment to excellence in design. As the project progresses from concept to delivery, these awards are an encouraging reminder of the positive and lasting impact that the new pavilion will have on the city of Edinburgh.”
Councillor Donald Wilson, Edinburgh’s Culture and Communities Convener, said:
“We saw some of the most influential architects and landscapers compete to design Edinburgh's new Ross Pavilion. There was huge international interest in the competition and so it is great to see worldwide acclaim for wHY's winning design concept too.
“It is testament to Edinburgh’s standing as one of the world’s most beautiful and creative settings for live performance that the venue is one of only two UK projects shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival Awards. We're looking forward to working with wHY and the Ross Development Trust to develop this initial vision into a more detailed design.”
City of Edinburgh Council is enthusiastically supporting the project. Councillors agreed at a committee meeting last month for the Council to undertake the maintenance responsibility for all the improvements to the Gardens, in order to ensure that it remains a world-class garden for generations to come.
The Council also agreed, in principle, to act as a funder of last resort, offering up to £5 million if RDT could secure the remaining funding of circa £20m.
