The Oxford Station consortium has announced the winners of the architectural ideas competition, which was managed by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Oxford’s existing station will not support planned economic growth and it was felt that the area fails to provide a sense of welcome.
Wilkinson Eyre, Allies & Morrison and AHR were chosen by the judges as the three winning entries, with AHR topping the public vote.
The judges thought that Wilkinson Eyre’s entry (below) was appealing due to its single roof concept, and the way in which the design of the car-park and bus interchange supported an improved character for the whole area and improved its commercial potential.
Allies and Morrison’s entry (below) was admired by the judges because of its simplicity of approach and very attractive main station building.
AHR’s entry (below) was selected because the station design was original and impressive. The judges also liked the idea of a restaurant on the roof of the station itself.
Following the completion of a masterplan for the station area, six high-profile architects were shortlisted to produce ideas for what a new rail station development could look like and how it could link to the recently completed Frideswide Square. The six firms were: John McAslan Architects; Wilkinson Eyre; Allies & Morrison; AHMM; Rick Mather Architects and AHR.
Following an exhibition at the Castle Quarter and an online consultation process during December 2015, members of the public were invited to vote for the designs they liked best. The outright winner was AHR which scored over 70% of the public votes giving them the award of the ‘Peoples Favourite’. A judging panel from Network Rail, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council along with Department for Transport and Great Western Railway, awarded the three winning places to Wilkinson Eyre; Allies & Morrison and AHR. The panel was advised by architect Joanna Van Heyningen.
Fiona Piercy, Chair of the Judging Panel said: “We were delighted with the calibre of architects involved. They all produced excellent ideas making it very hard to choose the three winners. The ideas will help us set the benchmark for architectural quality standards and raise ambitions for a new world class gateway station for Oxford, building on the completed work at Frideswide Square and linking to new schemes at Oxpens and the Westgate development. We now need to work closely with Government and Network Rail and the private sector to secure the necessary mix of funding to deliver the next stage of the project. The design ideas will help us promote the best standards of architecture going forward.”
Leader of the County Council, Ian Hudspeth said: “These designs are visions of what the future of Oxford Railway Station could look like. We’re all very keen to see progress towards the creation of a world-class railway station for a world class city. The new station will have a pivotal role in Oxfordshire’s transport future, I look forward to the day when we see ideas like these become reality.”
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