Bartlett School of Architecture undergraduate student Charlie Redman has won this year’s AJ Small Projects Award for his student project, Welcoming Shelter, designed for the King’s Cross Skip Garden in central London.
The kinetic structure, created to provide a flexible outdoor dining space for the community garden, was developed at The Bartlett School of Architecture as part of a year 2 design brief led by BSc Architecture UG3 design tutors Jan Kattein and Julia King.
The project, a collaboration with Global Generation, aimed to create a space in which staff, volunteers and customers could enjoy the Skip Garden in any weather. The lightweight structure, realised with the help of Arup, can be opened using a double movement mechanism allowing the roof section to pivot around a central axis whilst simultaneously opening the front section.
Commenting on the Welcoming Shelter, Jan Kattein, from The Bartlett’s BSc Architecture, said: ‘Charlie’s achievement demonstrates what an important role universities play in bringing innovation to practice and what an untapped potential there is for students to become involved in real world projects.’
Professor Bob Sheil, Director of The Bartlett School of Architecture, said: ‘Architectural education investigates a vast and diverse field of research that spans the built and the unbuilt. Even so it’s extremely rare for a student to complete a built project of this scale and ambition. The experience Charlie has gained and shared is of immense value and deserves our thanks and admiration. The commitment behind this effort is inspiring and no doubt will inform the UKs forthcoming conference on research based education to held at UCL between April 7 – 9 for the Association of Architectural Educators.’
AJ Small Projects winner, Charlie Redman, said: ‘Winning the small projects is a dream come true. It has been an amazing journey and I’m looking forward to building upon it into my career. I can’t thank enough all the people who have helped me along the way.’
Welcoming Shelter is one of three schemes to win the 2016 AJ Small Projects Award, which also included an extension to a house in Harrogate by Doma Architects and a timber wildlife cabin in Bristol by Hugh Strange Architects.
The judging panel chaired by former AJ editor Rory Olcayto and including architect and developer Roger Zogolovitch, architect Sally Lewis, John Boxall of Jackson Coles, outgoing RIBA head of awards Tony Chapman, and Gianfranco Apicella from competition sponsor Marley Eternit said the schemes portrayed an ‘architecture of disruption’.
The AJ Small Projects Awards celebrate completed projects with a contract value of £250,000 and under. All 25 shortlisted projects will be on display at the NLA throughout March. Charlie Redman’s Welcoming Shelter can be viewed at the King’s Cross Skip Garden daily between 10am and 4pm.
Welcoming Shelter credits:
Architect: Charlie Redman
Client: Global Generation
Metal Fabricator: Metalcraft UK
Lighting : George Scott Design
Consultant and Structural Engineer: Arup
Project management: 2 Forty One
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Image: Charlie Redman’s Welcoming Shelter at the King’s Cross Skip Garden