RIBA Competitions recently awarded Hall McKnight Architects as the winner in the competition to redevelop the Quadrangle at King’s College London’s historic Strand Campus, which was considered to be unique in playing to the strengths of the historic buildings surrounding the Quad. Ian Caldwell, Director of Estates & Facilities at King’s, said ‘Hall McKnight had undertaken an impressive analysis of the site and presented a clear philosophy. By uncovering layers of the past, the architects showed a real engagement with the history of the buildings surrounding the Quad. The competition jury panel was impressed with Hall McKnight’s passion, intelligence, strategic sense and communicative ability.’ More images and information after the break.
They fought off strong competition from Estudio Barozzi Veiga; Estudio Carme Pinos with Soto-Lay Architects; Eric Parry Architects; Henley Halebrown Rorrison and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Niall McLaughlin, RIBA Adviser said: ‘This competition contained a strong and diverse international field. The quality of the submissions was very high. It was a pleasure to witness each of the presentations. Hall McKnight showed an ability to move from a detailed historical investigation to a very confident design synthesis. This shows great promise and maturity. I am confident that they can work well with King’s to develop a very successful building in this extraordinary setting.
Hall McKnight commented ‘We are delighted to emerge as the winners of this competition from among such a strong shortlist; it’s an ideal project for us. We enjoyed the process of developing our approach and engaging with such a considered brief that successfully articulated the views and aspirations of the staff and students at King’s. We look forward to developing the project with the university to transform the Quadrangle as a new focus for the Strand Campus without disrupting the special qualities inherent in this most distinctive of spaces in London.’
In the next phase of the project, King’s will work with Hall McKnight to develop the concept. It is anticipated that a design will be completed in Spring 2013 and it is hoped that the Quad will be in use in the 2014-15 academic year.
