News

Transforming an iconic London gateway.

A concept we crafted with Nicholas Hare Architects is one of the four winners of a national design competition.

The competition called for ‘exciting, bold, and iconic’ concepts for the transformation of Old Street roundabout. The site sits on the boundary Hackney and Islington in London and has been dubbed ‘silicon roundabout’, due to the high volume of tech companies in the area.

Smart spaces.

Organised by Islington Council in partnership with the Mayor of London, Transport for London, and Hackney Council, the competition asked multidisciplinary teams of architects, artists, designers, and technologists to consider how the area could look after the roundabout is removed.

The brief? A flexible, green, smart public space for cyclists, residents, workers, and visitors that harnesses the social, environmental, and economic aspirations of the area for the community.

The ‘smart’ aspect of the brief was where our Intelligent Buildings group provided expertise and ideas. Working with Nicholas Hare Architects, Price & Myers, and FIRA, we developed a dynamic proposal that reflects the area’s identity as a hub for digital innovation.

Our Audiovisual experts crafted an architecturally-integrated living LED digital display surface, while the wider team incorporated intelligent bike parking concept designs, community market technology infrastructure, soundscaping, a community app, and event infrastructure.

Islington Council has allocated a budget of £1 million to realise the project, so the designs will now begin to be finalised via a formal procurement process.

Claudia Webbe, an Executive Member of Islington Council for Environment & Transport, commented: “In an extremely competitive field, the judging panel has selected the entries that we believe offer the best ideas to create an iconic gateway for Old Street with a much-improved environment for local people, cyclists, and commuters.” 

Click here to read more about the other three winning concepts.