Winners of our innovative architecture competition announced

Designs taking their inspiration from the longhouses and farmsteads of the past are the winners in our architecture competition for affordable homes which encourage young people to stay in the Lakes and Dales.

Andrew from McMullan Studios visits the site credit CW Photographics

McMullan Studios have been chosen to design homes for Horton-in-Ribblesdale in Craven and Outpost have been chosen as winners for the Burneside site in the South Lakes. Both are pictured here visiting the sites earlier this year.

Robin from Outpost visits the site credit CW Photographics

A panel of experts in design, planning, local authorities and landowners met this week to choose the best from the shortlists of three for each of the two sites. The competition was run in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), to encourage more under 35s to live and work in the area.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale’s winner is McMullan Studios, who proposed ‘The Flexstead’ – a farmstead-style design with use of space giving a nod to both ancient Dales farmsteads and loft-style living. See more details here. 

Outpost is the winning practice for the Burneside site. Its architects came up with a series of longhouses for the location, offering a modern interpretation of the Cumbrian vernacular of the past. See more details here. 

The judges were particularly impressed with the way each winner appealed to younger people, especially with the flexibility of the homes for live/work purposes and affordability. Important factors were also the attention given to environmentally friendly construction and, in the case of the Burneside site, the inclusion of a community building.

We are delighted with the outcome of our RIBA competition. We asked for cutting edge designs for flexible, affordable housing which would appeal to the under 35s and that is exactly what we got.

Richard Dowson, a member of the GPLD team and part of the panel said “Our winners both gave really impressive presentations, explaining their ideas with passion and understanding of the issues faced. The standard of entries in the competition – which was open to all architects whether they were local, national or international – was exceptional. It was very tough to choose our shortlist of three, and from there to pick our winners.”

The judges also took into account feedback from the public via the RIBA website and from locally-held exhibitions. Consultations with planning officers and authorities as well as feedback from GPLD’s Creative Champions (locally-based young creative entrepreneurs) was also considered.

Both sites will now be subject to further consultation between the architects, site developers and local residents, to see how they can be progressed, as each would require planning permission before they could be built out.

The judging panel is made up of local authority officers from Craven District Council and South Lakes District Council, design experts, a RIBA agent and landowners. Its members include Wayne Hemingway (Hemingway Design), Nathan Cornish (Urban Splash), Mark Cropper (James Cropper), David Roberts (igloo), David Smurthwaite (CDC), Ian Hassell (SLDC) and Sasha Bhavan (RIBA).

The other finalists, who were all commended by the judges, were: Horton-in-Ribblesdale – McGinlay Bell Architects and Patalab; Burneside – Hawkins Brown and Weston Williamson.