The winners of a design competition for Castle Park were announced this week - and it could mean a tower block in the area.
Goram Homes and Bristol Housing Festival announced on Monday (March 14) that Groupwork and McGregor Coxall have won the design competition and said that the judges were 'hugely impressed by their innovative and bold scheme which exceeded expectations'.
Their proposal was that of a carbon negative scheme and the judges felt the winning team had the 'confidence, expertise and experience to bring the site to completion, forming a strong team with Goram Homes'.
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The scheme could see a new residential tower block on the corner of Castle Park, which could sit some 25 storeys high above a water source heat pump currently being built on the site of a former council depot.
Almost 200 homes will be contained within the 'modular mixed-use' development - the first to be built in Castle Park since the Blitz.
Goram Homes will now appoint the team to RIBA Stage 2 and prepare for a pre-application advice submission. They will begin the process of procuring a delivery partner and work with them to engage the community and get further feedback on their designs and proposals through formal engagement and consultation.
Stephen Baker, Managing director of Goram Homes, said: "We launched a design competition for Castle Park to find the most innovative and sustainable scheme for this important site right in the centre of Bristol. It was crucial for any proposal to deliver our vision of a development that respected its position by the park and next to our energy centre – the largest water source heat pump in England.”
“We received creative and bold entries from across the UK. It was particularly inspiring to see Bristol firms, in different sectors, working together to respond to the challenge of how to deliver much needed homes in a way that respects the environment. The winning team impressed all of us with their ambition and expertise and I look forward to working with Groupwork and McGregor Coxall.”
Groupwork is described as an award-winning London-based practice whose ethos revolves around producing historically responsive, materially honest and beautifully detailed buildings within Conservation Areas, AONB and of Grade I, II and II* Listed status.
McGregor Coxall is a leading multi-disciplinary design firm located in Bristol, London, Sydney, Melbourne and Shenzhen with projects including Sydney's Ballast Point Park, London's Royal Victoria Docks and Cardiff's City Centre.
Nerissa Yeung of Groupwork said: “We’re delighted and excited to have won this competition, which gives us and Goram Homes the opportunity to combine their ambition of negative embodied carbon construction with inclusive and sustainable living in Bristol’s town centre.”
The competition was launched by Goram Homes and supported by Bristol Housing Festival in October 2021 to find bold ideas for a residential development to sit alongside the Castle Park Energy Centre in the centre of Bristol.
Stage 2 of the competition included an early engagement exercise in which local stakeholders such as the City Design Group, Bristol Civic Society, Bristol Food Network, Bristol Disability Equality Forum, Friends of Castle Park and others were invited to input into the proposed designs and ask questions to help shortlisted entrants understand some of the local needs and different points of view.
Following the success of the Castle Park competition, Bristol Housing Festival and Goram Homes launched their second design competition last week for the Portwall Lane Car park situated to the north of St Mary Redcliffe Church. They’re looking for innovative, inclusive, and inspiring ideas to help this site become the first piece of the puzzle in the regeneration of Redcliffe.
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