RIBA Roof Terraces competition Won by Dan Pearson Studio

Dan Pearson Studio has won the competition to select a designer to remodel the three publicly accessible roof terraces at the RIBA Headquarters Building, Portland Place, London.

The first Stage of the competition attracted 57 Expressions of Interest, from which Burd Haward Architects, Dan Pearson Studio, Glowacka Rennie Architects and Studio Weave + Millimetre were invited to attend a competitive interview to outline their possible approach and vision for the remodelling of the terraces. The Jury Panel consisted of members of the RIBA Premises Committee (Christopher Ash, Project Orange and Sasha Bhavan, Knox Bhavan Architects) together with Lisa Lightfoot (RIBA Deputy Venue Manager) and Martin Pascoe (RIBA House Architect and Head of Property & Facilities).

Panel members were greatly impressed by the enthusiasm and variety of approaches proposed by the four short-listed teams. The panel felt that Dan Pearson Studio’s well considered proposals, which whilst meeting the functional requirements of the outdoor spaces, had the potential to create a memorable set of terraces, with year round interest that would compliment the richness and integrity of the Grade II* listed 1930’s building.

Members of the Jury Panel commented:

“An appropriate, simple, yet innovative solution - we look forward to seeing Dan Pearsons studio create a beautiful, changing backdrop of fabulous plants for this special building”. Sasha Bhavan (Knox Bhavan Architects)

“The competition drew a fascinating range of responses across disciplines and included architectural, landscape and installation based proposals. In this context it was felt that the winning proposal, incorporating sophisticated planting strategies and living walls would provide a beautiful counterpoint to the architecture of 66 Portland Place and significantly enhance and enrich the experience of the terraces.” Christopher Ash (Project Orange)