Impromptu Arquitectos Win Housing Competition in England's North

Porto, Portugal-based Impromptu Arquitectos, together with their British partner Sergison Bates, have won the “Make Me a Home” competition to design the family homes at Tees Valley Regeneration’s flagship scheme on North Shore in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Developers Urban Splash and Muse Developments, in conjunction with BD Magazine and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), held this competition which challenged architects to shape the future of family homes. They were asked for concepts which broke convention and delivered a new typology in housing design.

More than 100 entries were received and six finalists hailing from across the globe had been selected. Two practices were from London, together with firms from Liverpool, Italy, Portugal and Germany. 

Submissions were judged on the design of the homes and the layout of the buildings on the site to take full advantage of its south facing position on the banks of the River Tees.

It is anticipated that at least 250 family homes will eventually be built on the £300m North Shore mixed use site and that the development will also provide between 2,500 and 4,600 long term job opportunities.

Impromptu partner Nuno Rosado said: “We’re very proud to be part of the project. It’s a very important development, and a fantastic site. Impromptu and Sergison Bates have a very similar understanding of how to tackle architectural problems.”

Urban Splash development manager Mark Latham said: “They’re a fantastic team, with great design ideas. It was a combination of being a flexible typology - a uniform plot size that could be a two-, three-, four- or five-bedroom house, coupled with what Christophe Egret, one of the judges, described as a poetic approach to the masterplan.”

Joe Docherty, chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration, said: “To achieve this level of interest in North Shore from architects across the world is fantastic. It is a huge vote of confidence in the scheme and the Tees Valley.”

Matt Crompton, joint managing director of Muse Developments said:  “The judges were looking for designs that did justice to the Home Zone’s riverside site, given its proximity to the new Infinity Bridge and the proposed new university campus.  As part of a substantial mixed use scheme, which will include offices and leisure amenities, public space and deliverability were equally important.”

Jonathan Falkingham, chief executive of Urban Splash, said:  “We’re questioning the typology of the family home, but at the same time trying to be provocative.”

All the entrants’ proposals will be exhibited at Newcastle’s architecture center, Northern Architecture, as part of its North East Festival of Architecture.

Images: Impromptu Arquitectos