O’Donnell & Tuomey / Allies & Morrison win Stratford Waterfront competition

Olympicopolis

Olympicopolis2
A team including O’Donnell & Tuomey have been appointed to the Stratford Waterfront scheme, a key part of Olympicopolis in east London. The Irish architects are in a team with Allies & Morrison, Josep Camps/Olga Felip Arquitecturia, Gustafson Porter, Buro Happold, and Gardiner & Theobald.

Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey said: “We are delighted to be on the winning team for this most important project. Cultural and educational buildings and the public realm have been the critical purpose of our practice for more than 25 years. It feels like all our work has been leading towards this extraordinary commission.

“And we’re happy to be back again in London where we began our careers in architecture. We greatly look forward to collaborating on the creation of an exciting urban quarter in this new part of town.”

The 145,000 sq m project aims to create a new cultural quarter in east London to rival Albertopolis or Bloomsbury. University of the Arts London, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Sadler’s Wells are partners in the new development. Discussions are also underway with the Smithsonian Institution to join the scheme by opening its first permanent museum outside the United States. The 70,000 sq m scheme will also feature a 75,000 sq m residential development.

The two-stage competition was launched in September 2014 with interest registered by over 125 architects, master planners, engineers and landscape designers from around the world. The second stage of the competition saw six shortlisted teams invited to submit concept designs for the culture and university complex. The winning team was chosen by a jury chaired by Paul Finch from World Architecture Festival. The panel included representatives from each of the institutions to be housed in the scheme, plus external guests.