Member Article

Byker visit for winning designers

The winning architects of a prestigious competition to transform an area of Newcastle have taken the first steps towards making the designs a reality.

Letts Wheeler Architects won the Byker Design Competition in May - a project to regenerate two sites in the Byker area, St Lawrence Square and South Byker, including the vacant and deteriorating Bolam Coyne.

The team responsible for carrying out the project has recently revisited the sites at the start of their work to develop designs and adapt them to meet the needs and aspirations of the local community. The architects and project team will listen to community suggestions and concerns so that the designs are refined to meet their needs and aspirations. For the next few months they will be based for two days each week at the Ouseburn Regeneration Centre as they progress this work.

Local community involvement is at the heart of the competition, building on the innovative approach of Ralph Erskine, the visionary architect who designed Byker Estate.

Andrew Wheeler of Letts Wheeler Architects said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the winners of the competition and are now keen to develop the designs in cooperation with the project team and the local community.”

Anne Mulroy, Director of Bridging NewcastleGateshead, said: “It’s great to see the Byker Design project finally moving from the initial planning stage into implementation. As the competition’s winning architects, we’re sure that Letts Wheeler will do a fantastic job in transforming South Byker and St Lawrence Square.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .