Derwent London plc and Office Concierge are delighted to announce the winners of the AJ Future Reception competition, which they co-sponsored.
The winning project ‘A Live Landscape’ by Studio Seilern was described by the judges as ‘whimsical, attractive, inspiring and different’. Their proposal transformed the reception into an indoor park with butterfly enclosure, including meeting rooms, an event space and a garden changing with the seasons. Gibson Thornley were named runner-up, with their ’24-hour city reception’, an adaptable reception with a flexible programme with an emphasis on constant transformation.
The competition was devised to explore the way people arrive at office buildings and to generate ideas – physical, virtual, technological, architectural – and potential solutions. Derwent London’s upcoming development White Collar Factory at OId Street, designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, was used as the dummy site.
The Jury included Simon Silver, Head of Regeneration of Derwent London, Simon Cooney, Director of Office Concierge, Simon Allford, Director of AHMM, Christine Murray, Editor of Architects’ Journal and Peter Murray Chairman of Wordsearch/New London Architecture.
The competition was managed and promoted by Architects’ Journal.
Simon Silver, Head of Regeneration, Derwent London plc, commented:
“For Derwent, the design of the entrance and reception to our buildings is fundamental to their success. We see this competition as an opportunity to challenge current thinking on the arrival experience in office buildings.”
Simon Cooney, Director, Office Concierge Ltd, commented:
“Our aim was that this competition would break down the barrier of the conventional reception desk and generate innovation and fresh ideas from the design world. We at Office Concierge are somewhat obsessed with improving what we call ‘the first touch experience’ for both visitors and staff working in the 220 buildings in which we operate.