Malcolm Reading Consultants: The Latest Architecture and News

ELEMENTAL, led by Pritzker Prize laureate Alejandro Aravena, has been selected as the design team for the Art Mill project in Doha, Qatar. Following a 26-strong longlist and a shortlist of eight internationally renowned practices, including Atelier Bow-Wow and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the Chilean practice have been lauded by the jury for developing "a serene artwork, [in which] the structure is the architecture." Once complete, the project will join two other nearby cultural heavyweights: the Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei, and the National Museum of Qatar designed by Jean Nouvel.

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has launched the BCO NextGen competition, this initiative advised by Malcolm Reading Consultants.

Competitors are asked to consider ‘the office of 2035: what it will look like, and how it will support the way we will work’.  The free-to-enter competition is seeking forward-thinking and innovative responses, challenging the conventionalities of today’s workplaces and anticipating future needs.

Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) has been appointed by Kaunas City Municipality to run a one-stage design contest for Kaunas’ new Concert Centre. The substantial new building for this leading Lithuanian city, which has just won the title European Capital of Culture 2022, will encompass a world-class concert venue as well as multifunctional spaces for public and community events.

The one-stage contest will launch in early summer and conclude in the autumn. The initiative follows the success of the recent Science Island contest, which was the most popular architectural competition in Lithuania’s history.

The Ross Development Trust, in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Malcolm Reading Consultants, has announced the seven finalists teams that will compete for the design of the new Ross Pavilion in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. Located in West Princes Street Gardens below Edinburgh Castle and at the intersection of the UNESCO World Heritage recognized Old and New Towns, the £25 million project will feature a landmark pavilion to replace an existing bandstand, a visitors center with cafe, and a subtle reimagination of the surrounding landscape. The new pavilion will host a range of cultural arts programming.

From an entry pool of 125 teams, the following seven were unanimously selected to continue on to the second stage of the competition:

Homerton College, Cambridge and competition-organizers Malcolm Reading Consultants have announced that emerging practice Feilden Fowles has been selected as the winners of the competition to design a new £7 million showpiece dining hall for Homerton College, the newest constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Unanimously selected by the competition jury, Feilden Fowles’ scheme was chosen over a shortlist of entries from 2016 Stirling Prize winner Caruso St John, dRMM, Hall McKnight and Walters & Cohen Architects.

“Feilden Fowles’ concept design for the dining hall subtly relates to the existing ensemble of buildings and the garden setting, and yet has the poise to convince as a showpiece,” said Professor Geoffrey Ward, Principal of Homerton College, Cambridge.

 “What appealed so strongly about the team’s particular approach was their openness to creating many opportunities for dialogue. We are looking forward to working with them as they develop the detailed design.”

The Ross Development Trust in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Malcolm Reading Consultants has launched a global search for an outstanding team of architects, landscape designers, engineers and other specialists for the new circa £25m Ross Pavilion and Gardens project in the heart of Edinburgh.

The Ross Pavilion International Design Competition will award the commission to regenerate and renew an emblematic site at the heart of West Princes Street Gardens, which is presently occupied by the Ross Bandstand.

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The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation and Malcolm Reading Consultants have revealed the designs of 10 teams shortlisted to design a new Holocaust Memorial, to be located in London's Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament. After a call for expressions of interest was launched in September, 10 star-studded teams were selected in November and invited to submit their designs for an "emotionally powerful and sensitively designed memorial."

With the designs now revealed to the public, competition organizer Malcolm Reading Consultants and the government-led Memorial Foundation are now consulting with the public and are inviting people to submit feedback about the designs here. The feedback received in this consultation period "will play a crucial role in informing the jury’s final decision on the memorial," they explained in a press release. Read on to see all 10 shortlisted designs.

The Government of the United Kingdom and competition organizer Malcolm Reading Consultants have announced the ten architect teams selected to envision designs for the new National Memorial to the Holocaust, to be located next to the UK Parliament. Designs will encompass a “striking” new National Memorial in Victoria Gardens, as well as a possible below ground Learning Center.

The 10 shortlisted teams were selected from nearly 100 entries from teams across the globe by a jury made up of notable figures in British culture, religion and architecture, including Director of Stanton Williams Architects, Paul Williams; former Serpentine Galleries Director Dame Julia Peyton-Jones; and National September 11 Memorial and Museum Director, Alice M Greenwald.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) has announced that Herzog & de Meuron has been selected as the winner of a competition to design a strategic approach for the center at its new £108m Battersea South campus.

Beating out runner-up practices Christian Kerez (Switzerland), Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US), Lacaton & Vassal (France), Robbrecht en Daem architecten (Belgium), Serie Architects (UK/Singapore) and Studio Gang (US), the winning proposal was lauded for its “strong engagement with the existing College buildings and wider surroundings in Battersea.”

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The Illuminated River Foundation has unveiled the six designs shortlisted to transform the river Thames in London by lighting up key bridges along the length of the river. The six teams were selected in September and asked to work their initial schemes into concept designs for the Westminster, Waterloo, London and Chelsea bridges. The teams comprise: Adjaye Associates; A_LA; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Leo Villareal with Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Future\Pace; Les Éclairagistes Associés with ecqi and Federico Pietrella; and Sam Jacob Studio with Simon Heijdens. Read on to see all six designs.

Homerton College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, announced today the five firms shortlisted in the competition to design a emblematic £7 million ($8.5 million USD) centrepiece building to house a 300-person dining hall for the school. The finalists were selected from an original pool of 155 architects, from which 24 were selected for the longlist.

The competition, organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, is a part of the College’s wider plan to improve and expand school facilities. Homerton boasts one of the largest student communities at Cambridge, and is one of a few of the University’s colleges capable of housing all undergraduate students in on-site facilities for all four years. To be located on an attractive wooded site, the commission has the potential to determine the character of the school for years to come.

The 5 finalists are:

The UK Government and Malcolm Reading Consultants have announced today an international competition for the design of a new National Memorial to commemorate the events of the Holocaust.

To be located next to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens in London, the new national landmark will "demonstrate the UK’s commitment to honouring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, providing a place for quiet reflection as well as large-scale national commemorations." The competition brief also calls for the design of a potential below-ground learning center to accompany the memorial, which would provide visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Holocaust and the context of the memorial itself.

The Illuminated River Foundation has announced a shortlist of six firms that will compete to design a new permanent light installation along the Thames River in London. From a pool of 105 teams (made up of 346 different firms), the winners were selected based on experience, past projects and team composition. The six finalists will now continue on to develop lighting schemes for the Westminster, Waterloo, London and Chelsea Bridges, as well as a design masterplan for the 17 iconic London bridges between Albert and Tower.

Continue reading to see the list of six finalists.

Stanton Williams and Asif Khan have been announced as the winners of the competition to design the new Museum of London at West Smithfield. Beating out 70 entries from top firms and a shortlist including BIG, Caruso St. John and Lacaton & Vassal, the winning proposal was selected for its “innovative thinking, sensitivity to the heritage of existing market buildings and understanding of practicalities of creating a great museum experience.”

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