Assemble wins competition to redesign Bramcote Park

Southwark Council and New London Architecture have announced local architecture collective, Assemble as the winner of the Revive Bramcote Park design competition.

Southwark-based, award-winning design and architecture collective Assemble – in collaboration with landscape architects and circular economy specialists, Local Works Studio – has won the competition to masterplan the redevelopment of Bramcote Park.

With their winning proposal ‘A Park Made in Bermondsey’, Assemble (who also worked on The Blue, Bermondsey) and Local Works Studio beat five other shortlisted teams for the project and will collaborate with Assemble Play and Webb Yates to develop the plan.

The team want to learn from and work with local residents, children, manufacturers, trades, and community leaders at all stages of the design and making process. So their design will continue to evolve until the final scheme is delivered towards the end of this year.

A park of two halves

Assemble’s winning concept features a park of two halves, including a public square to the north of Verney Road and a ‘forest garden’ to the south.

The open character of the northern half will be enhanced to create an elegant, robust neighbourhood square, flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of people in the park. The square will be a welcoming place with an adaptable play area that can be transformed on special occasions for community events.

The ‘forest garden’ will include open spaces which have the feeling of a woodland edge or meadow glade.

Existing planting will be enriched with an abundance of edible and characterful plants from around the world. The diversity in structure and species will improve habitats for wildlife while also maintaining lines-of-sight from the street and a feeling of safe enclosure. There will also be space for volunteer community gardens in future.

Children will be encouraged to occupy all parts of the park and playable space will be integrated into the layout and landscaping of both the square and the garden. Features will be co-designed with children during play events and built nearby, with opportunities for young people to collaborate in their making.

Verney Road

The team want to make Verney Road an integral part of the park, as it is the main gateway between the garden and the square. Paths and entrance gates will welcome and guide pedestrians to a shared crossing well away from the main action of the square.

Greenery and a distinctive surface will encourage cautious driving across the shared road space and the road layout will be adaptable, as longer-term developments in the area lead to a reduction in traffic.

The view from Verney Road

Sustainable construction

The team will take a ‘circular economy’ approach to the project; prioritising materials and ways of constructing landscape that have the most positive impact on the environment.

Through inventive, playful reuse, they will retain as much material on site as possible during and after the refurbishment, considering the whole life of materials to minimise transport and waste.

An emphasis on design for reuse, repair, cultivation, and maintenance of existing assets will generate opportunities to support local supply chains and organisations that will enhance the social and economic legacy of Bramcote Park’s improvement.

The team will also work with local greening initiatives, seeking opportunities to grow plants locally, and enable community participation in the transformation and ongoing care of the neighbourhoods’ green lungs. Existing veteran trees will provide economical, natural structure to the park and new planting will increase biodiversity.

Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, said:

“Congratulations to Assemble on their winning entry. This is a wonderful opportunity to deliver a project that will have a real and meaningful social impact.

The Old Kent Road area is undergoing a major transformation that will deliver huge benefits to local people, not least by creating new housing, new jobs, and a much better environment.

This project will be paid for by contributions from developers in the area, and Assemble’s designs will help us to deliver a much-improved park for today’s community and for generations to come”.

The revamp of Bramcote Park has been made possible with funding from the regeneration of Old Kent Road. The project is also supported by landowners Notting Hill Genesis and Optivo .

The other shortlisted entries for the competition can be seen on the NLA website.