Bradley Murphy Designs have been shortlisted for the 2019 World Landscape Architecture Awards
Warwickshire-headquartered national landscape architecture firm Bradley Murphy Design (BMD) has been shortlisted for the Conceptual category of the 2019 World Landscape Architecture (WLA) Awards, an annual showcase that seeks to recognise outstanding work across the industry. The Conceptual category, in which the HALO concept led by BMD is the only UK project to be shortlisted, recognises three key elements: Design, innovation and presentation.
The HALO concept was developed by BMD in collaboration with JTP and Peter Brett Associates (now part of Stantec) managed by the Landscape Institute (LI) on behalf of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) and NHS England. The brief was ??to find the best creative and inspiring ideas to help shape the landscape of Ebbsfleet, the first new Garden City of the 21st Century, and the largest of 10 Healthy New Towns being developed in the UK??.
HALO re-imagines how green, grey, blue and built infrastructure work together to make new communities inherently healthier, greener and smarter. BMD looked to find ways to address the barriers local people face to living a healthier lifestyle through four key design interventions, Hives, Arcs, Links & Organics. The design aimed to give people access to others via social hubs; reconnect them to nature; offer a finer grain movement network – ensuring healthy infrastructure is ??unavoidable?? for Ebbsfleet??s residents – and deliver food and habitat hubs, opening up access to foraging routes and healthy food initiatives such as ??Edible Ebbsfleet??.
Once shortlisted, the design team were asked to apply the concept to the Blue Lake; a natural inherited asset set to become the heart of the new Garden City and one of the site??s seven city parks. Taking on board the surrounding landscape such as the iconic chalk cliffs, its proximity to Ebbsfleet International railway station and location in relation to the neighbouring residential development, the final winning design response aimed to:
- Provide a reason to go there ?? creating a major leisure destination featuring a floating island adventure park and ??Be Hive?? beacon built into the chalk cliff face.
- Offer a safe way to get there ?? using the lake as a key stepping stone between the development and its surroundings, connected by a series of uninterrupted arcs.
- Create an accessible & legible destination ?? allowing people to walk and cycle to the Blue Lake, whilst the beacon ensures a visual connection to the wider hinterland.
- Providing a connection with nature ?? establishing a chalk habitat mosaic by enhancing cliff faces & lake edges and the creation of floating eco islands.
Ryan Murphy, Director of BMD, said: ?Being shortlisted for such a prestigious award is a testament to the expertise of our team and partners who together delivered a creative, collaborative and consultative response to the landmark Ebbsfleet project. It was a great result to be awarded the winning design for the Ebbsfleet challenge, but to also gain international recognition and be only one of two UK firms shortlisted for the WLA Awards highlights how we??re contributing to the future of global, people-led design. HALO demonstrates how collaborative masterplanning, with buy-in from all disciplines and stakeholders, can not only grow sustainable communities, but inspire interest on the world stage. We??re pleased to be in the running and look forward to the final results.??
