A team led by U.S.-based design practice WHY has been announced today as the winner of the Ross Pavilion International Design Competition. The £25 million project, which will be the firm’s first in Europe, is set to enhance Edinburgh’s historic West Princes Street Gardens, located below Edinburgh Castle, and create a pavilion for cultural events along with a visitor center and café.
The team led by WHY, which was unanimously announced as the winner, included Edinburgh-based Groves-Raines Architects (GRAS), international design firm Arup, Paris-based Studio Yann Kersalé, Glasgow- and London-based O Street design consultants, Glasglow-based Stuco design studio, Manchester-based communications agency Creative Concern, plants and gardens consultant Noel Kingsbury, U.K.-based Atelier Ten environmental design consultants, and urban consultant Lawrence Barth. The competition received submissions from 400 firms from 22 countries, and the shortlist included internationally known firms such as Adjaye Associates and Bjarke ingels Group.
Norman Springford, competition jury chair, said in a press release by Ross Development Trust that the design by WHY “respects and enhances the historical context and backdrop of the Castle and the City, whilst creating new heritage and increasing the green space within the Gardens,” which are a World Heritage Site.
The competition was held by the City of Edinburgh along with the Ross Development Trust, a Scottish Charitable incorporated Organization. Construction of the project is set to begin in 2018.
Courtesy wHY via Malcolm Reading Consultants
Courtesy wHY via Malcolm Reading Consultants
Courtesy wHY via Malcolm Reading Consultants
