wHY-led Team Wins Competition for Edinburgh's Ross Pavilion

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The team led by US-based architects wHY has been selected as the winner of the Ross Pavilion International Design Competition, beating out proposals from Adjaye Associates, BIG, Flanagan Lawrence, Page\Park Architects, Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter and William Matthews Associates + Sou Fujimoto Architects.

Featuring an international collaboration of architects, engineers and creative agencies – including Edinburgh-based design studio GRAS, Groves-Raines Architects, Arup, Studio Yann Kersalé, O Street, Stuco, Creative Concern, Noel Kingsbury, Atelier Ten and Lawrence Barth – the team envisioned a rolling terrain for the West Princes Street Gardens site that the jury lauded as both exciting and respectful of its historic setting.

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“[wHY] demonstrated an impressive collaboration which respects and enhances the historical context and backdrop of the Castle and the City, whilst creating new heritage and increasing the green space within the Gardens. All of which were key aspects for us all and respected the importance of the space within a World Heritage Site,” said Norman Springford, Competition Jury Chair.

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The scheme drew inspiration for the geology and history of the gardens, embedding the sculptural seating bowl into the earth and allowing the historic Edinburgh Castle to persist as the main focal point of the site. According to the architects, the proposal revolves around “human scale with moments of drama... activating four layers of meaning within the Gardens: botanical, civic, commemorative and cultural.”

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“wHY is built around an ecology of disciplines, the convergence of ideas, experience, nature and people. The Ross Pavilion and West Princes Street Gardens represent this convergence and this was the perfect ground to further our approach to design,” said Kulapat Yantrasast, Founder and Creative Director of wHY.

“To be selected from so many extraordinary thinkers is an honour. We felt a personal connection to the Gardens and believe our design embodies how important collaboration and people are to making a place remarkable.”

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A special commendation was also awarded to the team led by William Matthews Associates and Sou Fujimoto Architects for their “memorable and delicate design that opened up unexpected views, particularly those to the Castle.” 

Construction on the winning project is expected to begin in 2018. 

More information about the competition, organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, can be found here.

News via Malcolm Reading Consultants.

Adjaye, BIG, Sou Fujimoto and 4 Other Teams Reveal Proposals for Edinburgh's Ross Pavilion

Detailed visions of the concept designs from the seven shortlisted teams in the running for the new Ross Pavilion (named for William Henry Ross, the former chairman of the Distillers Company) have been released.