Charles Holland at the site on Tooley Street
Charles Holland
Architects have won our design competition to improve wayfinding and the public realm
outside London Bridge station.
Organised by the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and Team London Bridge, the competition was open to architects, designers and artists, who were
invited to produce design concepts for the transformation of the Tooley Street
Triangle - a busy but dull traffic island opposite the main entrance to London
Bridge station.
You Are Here is
conceived as a page of the London A-Z come to life, helping the thousands of people
using London Bridge every day to find their way around the area, and
transforming the overlooked piece of pavement into a local landmark and meeting
point. It has two parts: a scale map of the area around London Bridge printed
onto the pavement, complete with street names and major landmarks, and a giant
signpost with local directions and information on it. The triangular beacon is
intended as a visual symbol for the Tooley
Street Triangle and also has a bench to allow passers-by to take a
breather. The location draws people from the busier main roads and signposts
quieter routes with cleaner air, away from noise and pollution.
Charles Holland Architect's winning concept
Charles Holland Architects is an
international architecture and design studio whose work includes buildings,
exhibitions, public art, urban design, teaching and research. Charles Holland
was previously a director of FAT where key projects included A House for Essex
in collaboration with Grayson Perry. Current projects include houses in the UK
and Holland, the regeneration of a historic high street and public artworks in
Kent. The practice was successful in the competition which attracted 36
entries, and was judged by a panel including Jonas Lencer (director, dRMM), Jack Skillen
(placeshaping director, Team London Bridge), Tamsie Thomson (director, London
Festival of Architecture) and Matthew Hill (head of highways, Southwark
Council).
Subject to planning
consent, You Are Here will be installed in 2019. The total project budget is
£23,000 + VAT.
The London Bridge public
realm design competition is one of a series organised by the London Festival of
Architecture and its partner network in 2018 to showcase architectural and
design talent, and improve public spaces across London. Earlier this month the
festival announced that Pricegore and Yinka Ilori will design the second
Dulwich Pavilion for summer 2019, and took architecture through the streets at
Pride London with Architecture LGBT+, on a competition-winning float designed
by Hawkins\Brown. Other current competitions include one to revitalise public
space beneath the Thessaly Road Railway Bridge near New Covent Garden Market.
Charles Holland,
founder of Charles Holland Architects, said: "We are
delighted to have been selected by Team London Bridge and the London Festival
of Architecture for this project. Our proposal responded directly to their
brief for improving the public realm around Tooley Street Triangle whilst
aiming to bring a sense of playfulness and delight. We are now very
excited to be working with the team to develop the proposals
to fruition."
Tamsie Thomson, director of the London
Festival of Architecture, said: “Getting lost outside London Bridge is a
familiar feeling for millions of people – but not for long, thanks to Charles
Holland Architects’ charming landmark. The competition has demonstrated how
architecture – even at a relatively small scale – can have an enormously
positive impact, and I’m looking forward to working with Charles and his team
on this very exciting project.”
Jack Skillen, Placeshaping
Director at Team London Bridge, said: “London Bridge is a world-class destination
for business and tourism, and yet this little space can be both confusing and
underwhelming for the thousands of people coming here. What we loved about
Charles Holland’s concept over the other brilliant entries was the way a
beautifully designed object can solve these problem head on, helping people to
meet up, look around, and orientate themselves. It enlivens a key gateway to
encourage people to explore some of our quieter routes to the river, Tower
Bridge and Borough market."
This commission is part funded by the The Mayor of London's Low Emissions Neighbourhood scheme.