Students from The Bartlett School of Planning are double winners at Design Future London

The Design Future London challenge seeks to encourage a greater diversity of young Londoners to enter the built environment sector covering planning, architecture, urban design, surveying, property, real estate management and construction.

The competition, hosted by the Mayor of London aims to challenge students aged 5-24+ to design a solution to one of London's areas. This year, Croydon Town Centre was chosen as the competition site. Being one of the Mayor of London's 'Opportunity Areas', Croydon Town Centre possess enormous potential to accommodate new housing and other supporting infrastructure such as retail and transport. Key themes highlighted in this competition include High Streets for All, Building Homes for Londoners, Sustainable Transport, Green Energy, and Making Places (Spaces) for Communities.

The Bartlett School of Planning team comprising of Ben So, Jin Wen Kee, Stella Shen, Eddie Gao and Matt Xi, won the 19-24 years-old category along with the People's Vote prize. Their winning entry, 'Creative Croydon' reimagines Croydon Town Centre as a bustling town centre with indoor markets, a new youth centre, affordable housing, co-housing schemes for all ages, and rooftop urban farms for the community.

Ben So, BSc Urban Planning and Real Estate student who received the award on behalf of the team said: “We wanted to transform Croydon Town Centre into a bustling lifestyle destination, providing suitable housing, commercial and office spaces. In doing so we can elevate the area, all the while meeting London’s net-zero carbon goals.”

For more information on the winning project, click here.