Winners of The Pineapples 2023 Awards announced!

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea created the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team to work on the refurbishment of 800 homes on Lancaster West Estate. The team has been working in partnership with residents to select the architects and co-design the refurbishment of the estate itself.

Faced with an “overly surveyed community” and lots of mistrust, the judges thought this was an exceptional example of engagement work. Through community collaboration and partnerships, an impressive amount of change has been achieved in a short time. The 3-phase strategy was clear and well executed with co-design refurbishment, evidenced by clear social value.

Led by Lewisham Citizens, the campaign for affordable housing began in 2014. Once a site was agreed in 2016, Lewisham Citizens and London CLT engaged the local Sydenham community in transforming their own neighbourhood starting with this small piece of land with actions including design workshops and a community steering group

The judges thought it was impressively driven by Lewisham Citizens, in response to the lack of affordable housing, from pounding the streets to identify possible sites to lobbying politicians and building up support. The judges agreed this was an outstanding example of community-led development. How stakeholders have come together with an approach to deliver new much-needed housing is a model example of how to bring about sustainable change, replicable nationwide…..It was commented that many CLTs have really struggled and the judge's experiences have not been positive, so congratulation to London CLT, Lewisham Citizens and Archio Architects for delivering.

Also shortlisted:

The Great Northern, Manchester – Trilogy Real Estate with Forever Manchester

Left Bank Birkenhead, Wirral – Wirral Borough Council and Igloo with PLACED

Purley Regeneration Framework and Community Vision, Croydon – Croydon Council with Urban Symbiotics

Factory Quarter, Ealing – Notting Hill Genesis with The Oracle Group

Silverburn Cares, Glasgow – Silverburn with The Silverburn Forum

Margate Town Investment Plan and Delivery, Margate – Thanet District Council with PRD supported by We Made That, Pleydell Smithyman and Workwild

The Pineapple for Future Place

The Phoenix, Lewes – Human Nature Places with Adam Richards Architects, Al-Jawad Pike, Archio, Ash Sakula, Charles Holland, Human Nature, Material Cultures, Mae, Mole, Rabble, TDO, Periscope

Situated in the heart of Lewes, the Phoenix is a 7.9-hectare brownfield site that runs along the river Ouse. The neighbourhood will comprise of 700 new homes that will be constructed primarily in sustainable timber, some of which will come from Sussex woodlands, and provide the town with much-needed homes and jobs, community spaces, a river walk, flood defences and a health centre.

The judges praised The Phoenix as a sensitive reworking of an urban area that borders an area of outstanding natural beauty with challenging conditions including fluvial and pluvial flooding. The development is an exemplar of how urban density can be done alongside climate resilience, raising the bar on the vernacular, with exceptional materiality and attention to placemaking. The drawings expressed the ground-level conditions in a way that shows real attention to the experience of the place, as did the naming of Gehl Square after Jan Gehl. The use of an in-house designer as well as 13 architects was an enlightened approach.

Also shortlisted:

The Brentford Project, Hounslow – Ballymore with AHMM, Glenn Howells Architects, Maccreanor Lavington and Grant Associates

Dagenham Green, Barking and Dagenham – Peabody Trust and Dagenham Dock Ltd with PRP and HTA Design

Broadwater Farm Urban Design Framework, Haringey – Haringey Council with Karakusevic Carson Architects, East, What If, Beyond the Box

St Helens Town Centre, St Helens – The English Cities Fund (joint venture between Muse, Homes England and Legal & General) in partnership with St Helens Council with Jon Matthews Architects, Planit-IE and Arcadis

Graphite Square, Lambeth – Third.i Group with Ben Adams Architects, Heyne Tillett Steel, Max Fordham and Martha Schwartz Partners

Redcliffe Way, Bristol – Goram Homes with McGregor Coxall, Groupwork, Hydrock

The Pineapple for Infrastructure

An urban park in the sky, this striking Victorian-era steel viaduct in the heart of historic Manchester has been transformed into an accessible green space. The grade II-listed Castlefield Viaduct was once used to transport goods in and out of Manchester but it has remained idle since the city's central station closed in 1969

The judges said that the positive impact on the community achieved by Castlefield Viaduct is truly remarkable. The visitor numbers and the positive feedback speak for itself, but what really impressed the judges was the ongoing commitment to understanding not just who was using the facility but who was not – the desire to understand which community groups were not engaging with the project and the commitment to reaching out to them. Taking obvious inspiration from New York’s much-celebrated High Line, the judges also appreciated the simple elegance of the way a heritage structure is being brought back to life. 

Also shortlisted:

Copr Bay Bridge, Swansea – City and County of Swansea with ACME

Collaborative Infrastructure Planning and Delivery, Tower Hamlets – London Borough of Tower Hamlets & Greater London Authority with Transport for London Cadent, SGN, UK Power Networks, Thames Water, Affinity Water, Network Rail, Arup

The Barking Riverside Transport Interchange, Barking and Dagenham – Barking Riverside Limited, Transport for London, Uber Boat by Thames Clippers with Transport for London, Morgan Sindall VolkerFitzpatrick, Network Rail, Weston Williamson + Partners

The two Pineapples for Climate Resilience

Climate change and the cost of living are two of the biggest challenges facing Londoners today. Plan Bee, initiated in 2018, has sought to address these issues together, improving access to shade, enhancing biodiversity and creating new community spaces where residents can grow and harvest their own food.

The judges’ commented, “It’s great to see this kind of work being undertaken in collaboration with local residents, and the results feel both achievable and aspirational”.

This research project is a provocation that reimagines and retrofits the ubiquitous London terraced house, retaining the front elevations, insulating, double glazing and adding an upper extension made of cork as a ‘warm hat’. The Sustainable Terrace House also includes communal gardens, pedestrianised zones and new planting schemes to enhance community.

Judges’ comments: “In a time of high energy prices, this provocation has shown the potential to transform a common and popular housing type – the Victorian terrace house – increasing energy efficiency without a loss of character and sense of place”

Also shortlisted: 

Grosvenor Biodiversity Strategy, UK-wide – Grosvenor Property UK with Greengage Environmental

Cults Burn Park, Countesswells, Aberdeen – Countesswells Development Ltd with Optimised Environments Ltd (OPEN)

Moulsecoomb Primary School Rainscape, Brighton – The Aquifer Partnership with Robert Bray Associates Ltd

The Going Green Masterplan, Birmingham – Colmore and Retail BIDs, Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP with Broadway Malyan

The Pineapples for Activation

In March 2022, Way of Life founded Community Life, a long-term strategic commitment, working collaboratively with grassroots initiatives to deliver a positive social impact. Inspired by the idea of ‘offsetting’ (like your flight, or car journey) residents are encouraged to donate to grassroot initiatives on a monthly basis alongside their rent.

The judges felt this project hit all of the criteria set out for this category, particularly the long-term impact it can have not just across the community where it currently works, but across the wider industry as a whole. Through its innovative investment and rental model, the developer can make a real difference in the communities where it owns and operates buildings – connecting new residents with existing people and projects. The judges felt strongly that this model should be “the future of renting” and that awarding this project a Pineapple would send a strong message to the rest of the industry that positive change is possible.

Also shortlisted:

Our Towns, Basildon – Basildon Borough Council with Things Made Public, Re:Framed, Wood Street Walls, Beispiel and Makower Architects

Let's Go Circular, Cambridge – Grand Arcade Shopping Centre Management Team owned by Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited with Grand Arcade Shopping Centre Management Team

Permanent Temporary at The Bottle Factory, Southwark – Fabrix with Pempeople x Livesey Exchange, SUMweekly, Collective 948, Mattia Guernia and Uncommon Goods

Kiosk N1C - Lower Stable Street, Camden – King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership with Applied Research Creative Studio and iya studio

The Pineapple for Activation: Reuse

A former Methodist church has been transformed to serve a vibrant but underfunded arts community in Ilkeston. The project has re-addressed the space and its surroundings, allowing the lawn to grow and planting new trees among several external sculptures. The building also includes an apartment for a resident artist.

The judges wanted to recognise this passion project to create a contemporary arts space in a disused Methodist church in Ilkeston. Built to house an art collection, the gallery is dedicated to an art teacher who inspired the architect Chris Williamson. The renewal of the gardens, the apple trees for the local school and the green beacon in the tower bring a welcome community pride to the project. The judges appreciated the structure of the management and curation of the gallery which includes five boards. They wanted to encourage the expansion of uses not solely for highbrow art, but inclusive of the wider community, such as the school plays and school visits highlighted in the presentation. 

Also shortlisted:

Holdron's Green, Southwark – Copeland Park with Campbell Cadey

Phoenix Park in the Gascoigne Neighbourhood, Barking and Dagenham – Be First with Gascoigne Residents' Forum, Fabrik and Urban Symbiotics

Meanwhile in Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire – Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire’s District Councils with Makespace Oxford

The Spark Lab, Ilford – Redbridge Council with Jan Kattein Architects

St Christophers Square, Bristol – Socius, FORE Partnership and Amicala with PRP and Meeting Place

The Pineapple for Future Public Realm

Historically the 150-year old Victorian viaducts through Bankside, London Bridge and Bermondsey, which form the Low Line route, have been left underused at street level. The strategic masterplan celebrates the area’s diverse neighbourhood and renowned heritage while making a feature of this physical barrier between central and south London

The judges felt positively about the vision and toolkit approach of the Low Line project as a mechanism for community groups, citizens, landowners and occupiers to participate in an urban greening project that is greater than the sum of its parts. They were keen to highlight the project as an approach that could be replicated elsewhere, not necessarily requiring a lot of funding. The toolkit provides ideas at a range of scales, with different ideas from play spaces to wildflower and food planting, underlining how each of the interventions could form part of a green corridor connecting neighbourhoods in a harsh and dense urban neighbourhood. The importance of urban greening to cool cities and increase health in a climate emergency, and the replicability of this approach, led the judges to award this project above the others. 

Also shortlisted:

TwelveTrees Park, Newham – Berkeley Homes South East London with HTA Design

George Street First New Town, Edinburgh – City of Edinburgh with Faithful & Gould, Atkins, Sustrans and Transport Scotland

Roots in the Sky Garden at Price’s Street, Southwark – Fabrix with Harris Bugg Studio and Mcmullan Studio

The Super Slow Way Linear Park (Pennine Lancashire Linear Park), Blackburn to Pendle – Super Slow Way Consortium with BDP

Water Meadow to People Meadow, Petersfield – Leo Cheung & Iris Wong

The Pineapple for Place in Progress

The £8 billion, 180-acre Brent Cross Town (BXT) development is one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe. In 2022, BXT delivered local amenities and social infrastructure first, including a visitor pavilion, a cluster of new shops and restaurants and Claremont Park. Initiatives such as ‘Project Play’ and ‘Flourishing index’ to measure wellbeing support a commitment to community.

It may be at an early stage, but the judges were impressed with the steps this project has taken towards its holistic vision. In particular, the delivery of social infrastructure first, not just the high-quality green spaces, but also the employment and skills, and commitment to incubating local entrepreneurs. The judges particularly liked the Flourishing index, and the development of metrics and measurement. Signage around this site, locked in by major roads, is important, and the judges look forward to the arrival of the station to see progress in the interconnecting of the new Brent Cross to the wider area. The commitment to women and girls in sports is commendable, and the judges felt the park spaces and cafe were busy and well-used on their visit. There is a hope that the community being fostered here will be supported as an influx of new residents change the character of the place. 

Also shortlisted:

Hornsey Town Hall, Haringey – Far East Consortium with Make Architects

Greenwich Peninsula, Greenwich – Knight Dragon with SOM, Allies and Morrison, C.F. Moeller, Jestico and Whiles, Pillbrow & Partners, Marks Barfield Architects, CJCT, Gross Max, DSDHA, 6A Architects, Adam Khan Architects et al.

Towards a better deal for Tottenham Hale, Haringey – London Borough of Haringey with Allies and Morrison, Adams and Sutherland, Kinnear Landscape Architects, Levitt Bernstein, Land Use Consultants, Adams and Sutherland

Stockport Exchange, Stockport – Muse and Stockport Council with Ryder Architecture

Little Kelham - Kelham Central, Sheffield – Citu with Citu Design, Citu Manufacturing and Citu Delivery

Laurieston Living, Glasgow – Urban Union

The Pineapple for Creative Retrofit

Originally built in the late 1840s, Crusader was one of the earliest and largest purpose-built textile machinery works in Manchester. Retrofitted for a residential community, the project aimed to preserve historical features where possible and minimise interventions to the existing fabric, restoring the courtyard enclosure and masonry façade

The whole team worked well together to bring the community and the building's users out of their silos to interact and work together. This project had to deal with using space for very contrasting purposes. There was some great design innovation to overcome this and the folding layers, bookcases and curtains worked really well. THey had a lot to get into a tiny space. This project will be a catalyst to get people to use the street again and to invigorate the local nightlife. Through Jan Kattein's further projects to create work spaces and school streets in the vicinity, it feels like this project reaches much wider than its walls.

Also shortlisted:

Kinning Park Complex, Glasgow – Kinning Park Complex SCIO with New Practice

The Dugdale Arts Centre, Enfield – London Borough of Enfield with Dallas-Pierce-Quintero

75 Wallis Road, Hackney Wick, Hackney – HTA Design LLP

Bow Arts, Lakeside Centre, Bexley – Peabody with Bow Arts, Sails & Sons and Architecture 00

Crusader Works, Manchester – Capital & Centric with shedkm

Strand Aldwych Public Realm, Westminster – Westminster City Council with LDA Design

 The Pineapple for Public Space

After the dramatic removal of traffic and pedestrianisation of the Strand in 2021, a safer and calmer space has emerged. Multi-coloured seating lines a large performance space with programming commissioned by the surrounding arts institutions. Communal dining, flowerbeds, new trees and cycle stands have increased dwell time in a previously busy and dense section of the city.

This incredible and seemingly unimaginable transformation impressed the judges and stood out in this tough category for its restraint - the interventions are at the human scale in a space that might have accommodated massive structures. As a result, it feels generous and truly for the people. The judges commented that it feels like a place for Londoners, not visitors, and how well it serves the institutions that surround it. They also liked how the project feels adaptable - designed to evolve and be responsive to future changes. A place that used to be an island is now a public space - and one that doesn't feel too fixed. It was an enlightened choice to not deliver all of it at once, to test ideas, and accommodate changing people and places. It's now hard to remember that Somerset House used to also be dominated by cars. The Strand is helping to join the dots between major spaces and create a London for people. 

Also shortlisted:

Alfred Place Gardens, Camden – London Borough of Camden with LDA Design

Camley Street Natural Park, Camden – London Wildlife Trust with Erect Architecture

Claremont Park, Brent Cross Town, Barnet – Related Argent with HTA Design, Townshend Landscape Architects, Erect Architecture

The Adelaide Street Project, Belfast – Belfast City Council and Department for Infrastructure (Collaborative Project) with OGU Architects and MMAS

Mayfield Park, Manchester – The Mayfield Partnership (U+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and LCR) with Studio Egret West

The Pineapple for Place of Year

On the site of a derelict former municipal market, the partnership has delivered a new 2.4-acre mixed-use neighbourhood. The £130m development provides 450 student bedrooms, 142 new homes, 30,000 sq ft of office space, 10 independent shops, cafes and restaurants, a 14,000 sq ft dance space and two public squares.

Judges’ comments: “Located in one of the most deprived wards of Brighton, with challenges to health and inequality, this aspirational project has lifted the area and prioritised local people over tourists. The architecture is significant on its own."

Also shortlisted:

The Design District, Greenwich – Knight Dragon with SelgasCano, 6a Architects, Adam Khan Architects, Architecture 00, HNNA, Barozzi Veiga, David Kohn Architects and Mole Architects

Dean Clough, Halifax – Dean Clough Ltd with Mark Hide Associates

NOMA, Manchester – MEPC, Federated Hermes, Standard Practice, Planit-IE, Workman LLP, Deloitte Real Estate, Colliers International, JLL, LTL

Wellington Place, Leeds – MEPC, Aberfield / Wellington Place with Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher, TP Bennett, Planit-IE

Altrincham, Altrincham – Altrincham BID

The Pineapple for International Future Place

Ireland’s most historic waterway is being celebrated with 57 individual cluster and regional projects identified as locations for investment and consultation. The project intends to change the Boyne Valley from a driving route to a destination for people on foot and cycling

The judges felt this project hit all of the criteria set out for this category, in particular in how it fosters communities and welcomes visitors. Through its broad scope and rural setting, it sets an interesting example for a project that creates a place not through masterplanning or building, but by valuing heritage assets, investing in local communities and helping reinforce the identity of an area. The judges are keen to see how these plans will be implemented and what the future holds for the Boyne Valley; for example, looking at the custodianship model and also the economic impact, not only focusing on increased tourism, but also on developing local communities, the retention of young people in the area and increased jobs opportunities and skills.

Also shortlisted:

Atelier Gardens Berlin, Germany – Fabrix with MVRDV, Harris Bugg Studio and Hirschmüller Schindele Architekten

Grønlikaia, Oslo, Norway – Hav Eiendom with Team LondonOn

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