The winning design teams have been announced for the fifth and final edition of the Pews and Perches design competition, which will see 6 bespoke public benches delivered throughout the Royal Docks in 2024.

The competition called for architecture and design students, recent graduates and emerging practitioners to deliver bench proposals that explore creative ways to use and reuse materials and take inspiration from the Royal Docks, its proximity to the water and the communities who live there.

For many of the winning teams, this will be their first commission and is an excellent opportunity to showcase their talent to a national audience.

This year’s winning designs respond to the Mayor’s vision of London transitioning to a circular economy set out in the draft London Plan earlier this year, creatively embracing, exploring and testing circular economy principles in their design, while also responding to the unique context of the Royal Docks.

The winning teams are:

The North-Bound Collective

The North-Bound Collective is a visionary group of graduates from the University of Sheffield’s Class of 2023, that came together to embark on an innovative and impactful bench project which explores the profound intersection of architecture, landscape architecture, building principles, and structural engineering.

Through the Pews and Perches competition, they envisage the maiden voyage of a series of delightful escapades, playfully traversing the boundaries between their respective fields, with the overarching goal of nurturing a greener, more sustainable tomorrow while encouraging the people of the Royal Docks to reclaim the waterfront.

Studio Green

Studio Green is a design-led architecture practice based in Bristol and led by Architect and Director, Jordan Green ARB/RIBA. The practice and its work are driven by explorative, resourceful and playful design as well as a desire to create meaningful architecture and exceptional spaces that are environmentally aware and material conscious.

Jordan studied at The Welsh School of Architecture (2017) and Bath University (2019), and was twice nominated for the Presidents Medal dissertation award. In 2016, He was awarded the RIBA Wren Insurance Association Scholarship recognising outstanding students who have the potential to make a significant contribution in the field of architecture. Jordan is an alumni of the former Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, an RIBA Mentor and a recent contributor to Design West’s Shape my City programme for young people.

In addition to practice, Jordan also teaches on the architecture programme at The University of the West of England and has mentored on the University’s award-winning Equity programme supporting black, Asian and minority ethnic students.

Poacea

Poacea is a non-profit collective composed of an eclectic mix of visionary individuals with a joint passion for communal learning, making, telling stories, and shared experiences. From a range of backgrounds across the creative, construction, and teaching sectors, Dimitrina Mitreva, Daniel Stilwell and Valeria Slahova actively pursue opportunities for community engagement.

They strongly believe that collaborative acts enhance the final built outcome for all those involved in the process, strengthening self-belief whilst offering participants an enriching experience and encouraging future willingness to explore unfamiliar adventures.

Studio_Underbar

Studio_Underbar’s Hosung Joo and Jingyeong Ryu first crossed paths at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. Since then, they have partnered on a range of voluntary design and research projects across diverse disciplines, as well as actively participating in public design competitions with an open-minded approach. Following the completion of undergraduate and master’s courses at the AA School, they have been acquiring professional experience as Part 2 assistants at Weston Williamson + Partners, aspiring to qualify as architects in the UK.

Their inspiration stems from research-based studies that delve into the interplay between context and materiality. They are particularly drawn to emphasising the details of bespoke elements, aiming to create a unique sensory atmosphere & social value in their projects. The duo’s primary interests lie in the sectors of urban design, landscape architecture, and the intricate intersection of community and culture.

Panta Rhei Collaborative X Miles Dean

@rosamerk

A collaboration between Bene Wahlbrink and Eugenio Cappuccio (Panta Rhei Collaborative), and Miles Dean was born over the pandemic through PRC’s modes of collective thought and production, and has evolved from exploring how circular design principles can champion the qualities of overlooked materials. Connected through old and new friendships whilst cooperating across borders, the three bring together their knowledge in the architecture and construction industry across the UK and Switzerland to test new ways of working with existing resources and processes, in an attempt to discover novel forms of sustainable craft and design.

Katie Fisher and Siraaj Mitha

After meeting and working together at Stanton Williams Architects in 2018, Katie Fisher and Siraaj Mitha have gone on to organise and collaborate on various workshops and initiatives for young people, including for Open City’s Accelerate. The pair place education and working with young people at the centre of their practice, particularly with the aspiration to platform under-represented voices in the built environment.

As well as the reduction of waste and the creative reuse of materials, they are also interested in creating circular processes of skills development and knowledge sharing through the empowerment of the people they work with.

Together they strive to develop new and more equitable forms of listening, learning and working in order to create opportunities for communities to shape the environment around them.

The competition entries have been judged by an expert panel including:

• Rosie Hardicker, GLA
• Betty Owoo, Architect and Pews and Perches winner 2019
• Michael Pecirno, HASSELL sustainability lead
• Andrew Tan, Teacher of the Built Environment at London Design and Engineering UTC
• Anna Gibb, Architect and Creative Connectors representative
• Joel Davis, Culture, Projekt

Lydia Allain Chapman, LFA – Chair

The winning teams will now work with the Royal Docks Team and London Festival of Architecture to develop and install their designs ahead of June 2024.