The London Festival of Architecture and the London Borough of Merton are pleased to announce the shortlist for Morden Moments.
This design competition for Morden town centre invited emerging architects, designers and artists to propose a team that will create and deliver imaginative and innovative interventions to enliven public spaces across Morden town centre for everyone who lives, works and visits the area.
The judging panel felt the shortlisted teams shared engaging visions that would bring bespoke ‘moments’ directly into the heart of Morden’s community. Their submissions demonstrated an understanding of the community engagement findings developed in Merton Council’s Meanwhile Action Plan. They also demonstrated the strength and suitability of their teams, as well as a clear capacity to successfully deliver the project.
The goal of the project is to create uplifting spaces that invite people of all ages to stop, pause and enjoy the area around them, while inspiring wonder and interest in their surroundings.
The shortlisted teams are:
- Studio Folk Architects
- POoR Collective
- OUT Architects
- Off Ground Collective x DO+CO Studio
- Betty Owoo, Siraaj Mitha and CARD Projects
- Andre Kong Studio with Wayward
Each team will further develop their design proposal before a second round of judging, in which the panel will choose one or two winners for the Station Yard and Abbotsbury sites in the town. Working closely with the team at Merton, the teams will further their understanding of the local area, working towards creating spaces across the borough that will truly reflect the identities within Merton. This development ensures the final installation is able to reflect the identity of this unique space in London, as well as the people who give the area its character.
Merton Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Civic Pride and Climate Change Cabinet Councillor Eleanor Stringer said:
“It was a privilege to judge the entries for Morden Moments. I was so impressed by the range of bright and brilliant ideas put forward to reimagine one of our public spaces and to bring nature into our town centre. The final design is an important part of our Meanwhile Action Plan to refresh Morden for local people to enjoy, and I’m looking forward to seeing the next steps in this competition.
Rosa Rogina, Director at London Festival of Architecture, said:
“We’re excited to be taking the next step in our work alongside Merton to bring joy and wonder to the heart of the borough. We’ve already seen great concepts come through from these fantastic teams, and we’re looking forward to seeing what each group comes up with for the next round of judging”.