Architects named on Lake District housing competition

Six architects including HawkinsBrown and Weston Williamson + Partners have been chosen to design flexible housing for young people in the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

One of 16 pilot projects funded by Arts Council England the Heritage Lottery Fund, the RIBA competition focusses on the rural corridor linking Skipton in the south to Grasmere in the North.

Architects were invited to design flexible accommodation to attract younger people to live and work within the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales; this has been put forward to address the outward migration of young people from the area, with the region covered by the competition having 44% fewer 16-34-year-olds than the national average.

Two sites formed part of the competition; one in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, and another at Burneside, two miles north of Kendal.

At this site, the landowners James Cropper, the Ellergreen Estate, and the Anglers Inn Trust are looking to develop a sustainable, housing-led mixed-use scheme, covering around two-and-a-half acres. This will include around 40 homes.

The six architects are split across the two sites: for Burneside, HawkinsBrown; Outpost with Giles Miller Studio; and Weston Williamson + Partners have been chosen; while for Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the winners are McGinlay Bell; McMullan Studio; and Patalab Architecture.

Up to six concept designs have been shortlisted, with further design development coming forward as a second phase.

The competition has been led by the Great Places Lakes & Dales Partnership, made up of South Lakeland Council, the Lake District National Park Authority, Craven Council, and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

The RIBA Competitions evaluation panel included Sasha Bhavan of KnoxBhavan Architects as the RIBA Adviser, Wayne Hemingway of Hemingway Design and Nathan Cornish of Urban Splash.