Abbey Green
Improvement Project
Abbey Green is undoubtedly one of Barking and Dagenham's most important sites as it has a rich and historical past and is the principle open space for Barking Town Centre.
It is also a key site within the East London Green Grid which is an award winning project to connect green spaces to one another and to other important locations.
Plans for improving Abbey Green are well underway following the recent international design competition run by London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in partnership with Design for London and the Architects Journal.
The aim of the competition is to procure high quality design services for the improvement of Abbey Green in light of the site's specific characteristics and challenges.
The first round saw 45 proposals enter the competition from a wide range of Architect and Landscape Architect practices from across the UK, Europe and beyond. This was distilled down to a shortlist of six entries by an expert panel brought together to judge the competition.
These are:
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Portfolio holder for Culture
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Division Head of Regeneration and Economic Development
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Division Head of Leisure and Arts
- Head of Design for London
- Vicar of St Margaret's Church
- English Heritage
- Architects Journal Editor in Chief
- Independent design experts Liza Frior and Fred Manson
For Stage 2 the six short listed design firms developed their designs further and produced 3D models which were publicly displayed in an exhibition in the Barking Learning Centre.
The shortlist were:
- Darling Associates
- Hawkins Brown
- Leitwerk Limited
- Lynch Architects
- MacDowell + Benedetti
- Tonkin Liu
The expert panel met again in November 2009 to hear presentations from each of these firms and to select the competition winner.
Lynch Architects were unanimously selected in partnership with Kinnear Landscape as the winner. This talented team is now seeking views from local residents to further shape their proposals.
Information on the winning design.
Aerial images and artists impressions.
Location map
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Click image for larger version.
