Urban design ideas needed for Vauxhall missing link

RIBA has announced the launch of a new international design competition for Vauxhall on London’s South Bank. The Business Improvement District (BID) for Vauxhall is seeking ideas to improve and enhance the public realm, providing the ‘Missing Link’ between the New US Embassy Quarter and the South Bank’s cultural hub. The competition is open to architects, landscape designers, urban designers and students worldwide. As with the New York ‘High Line’ competition multi-disciplinary design teams are encouraged.

Chris Law, Public Realm and Development Director at Vauxhall One said: “The level of interest in Vauxhall and the RIBA / Landscape Institute competition is high. We look forward to highly innovative and visionary entries. The urban landscape of Vauxhall is changing fast and the public realm is the key. We want to create sustainable green links that connect the parks and open spaces to each other and the river Thames.

“We want to connect the New American Embassy to London’s South Bank with new green and cultural trails, which tell the story of the area’s rich and colourful past. But above all, we want an architectural and landscape language fit for the Twenty First Century. Design innovation and flair are our key aspirations.”

Doreen Lawrence of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and Jury Panel member for the competition said: “It is an honour to be asked to be a panel member for the competition to develop the Vauxhall area. I am looking forward to seeing what the competition will deliver to an area that has being crying out for something special for so long.”

All entries will be exhibited during April 2013 at both the Garden Museum and on an outdoor cultural trail through the parks and railway arches of Vauxhall. For further details visit the competition website at www.ribacompetitions.com/vauxhallthemissinglink.