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Church End regeneration

Brent, London

Process

Building consensus within the partner organisations

The CABE enabler suggested a workshop with the council and the two housing associations to:

  • build a shared understanding of the objectives and vision for the project
  • explore the options for selecting a design team
  • provide advice on preparing a brief for the site
  • agree quality standards.

The workshop included planning and highways officers from Brent Council and staff from the two housing associations responsible for tenant services and office management. 

They represented the points of view of the end users of the proposed buildings and went on a site visit to share local knowledge and develop a common understanding of the site and its constraints.

Defining appropriate quality standards

A set of quality standards for the design competition brief were agreed at the workshop:

  • Building for Life gold standard
  • Secure by Design
  • Eco Homes ‘very good’
  • use of modern methods of construction
  • good pedestrian access and sightlines through the site.

These benchmarks helped assess the quality of proposed designs.

Creating a comprehensive design competition brief

The CABE enabler helped Brent Council and the two housing associations turn the draft requirements into a completed competition brief.  This included:

  • introduction
  • the aims and objectives of the project
  • description of the competition process
  • list of submission requirements
  • timetable for selecting a winning proposal
  • the judging panel
  • description of the site and links to the area masterplan
  • description of the local authority’s vision  for the wider regeneration area
  • details of site ownership
  • site constraints
  • technical requirements (e.g. number of residential units, mix of tenure. design standards)
  • specification regarding the Housing Corporation’s scheme development standards
  • local policy regarding the site and optimum density
  • cost parameters and funding
  • criteria for selection
  • information about who to contact for additional detail
  • procedure for answering questions
  • address for submissions
  • a site plan and transport proposals.

Running the competition

The invitation to tender was issued to those architects already part of a framework agreement with Catalyst Housing Group. The CABE enabler took part in a question and answer session with architects to clarify questions about the brief.

The judging panel included representatives from Brent Council, the two housing associations and the CABE enabler. Two architects presented their ideas and were interviewed by the judges.

PCKO Architects won the competition with a proposal which had a strong urban design approach. They suggested modifications to the proposed transport works to create a more successful public space.