six shortlisted teams have been announced as part of the illuminated river competition to design a permanent light installation along london’s thames. the selected finalists will now develop concept schemes for four bridges — westminster, waterloo, london and chelsea — along with a design masterplan for all 17 celebrated bridges between albert and tower. the shortlisted firms include the practices of david adjaye, amanda levete, and new york-based studio diller scofidio + renfro. the finalists, in alphabetical order, are listed in full below.

 

— adjaye associates with chris ofili, thukral & tagra, doug aitken, AKTII, HPF (hurley palmer flatt), four communications, DP9, plan A and DHA designs
— AL_A with asif kapadia, simon stephens, SEAM design and GROSS.MAX
— diller scofidio + renfro with l’observatoire international, arup, transsolar, jennifer tipton and oliver beer
— les éclairagistes associés with ecqi, ewo, federico pietrella, and GVA lighting europe limited
— lifschutz davidson sandilands with future\pace, leo villareal, pentagram, price & myers, atelier ten, beckett rankine and core five
— sam jacob studio and simon heijdens with electrolight, daisy froud and elliott wood

 

the teams were chosen from a total of 105 submissions with nearly half the entries coming from overseas. the competition is backed by the mayor of london and the rothschild foundation, with artists james turrell and sir michael craig-martin, together with former serpentine gallery director julia peyton-jones and co-founder of second home, rohan silva, also on the jury.

 

no design was sought at this first stage, with competitors making submissions based on experience, past projects, and team composition. according to competition organizer malcolm reading: the teams’ design challenge is to create an elegant and charismatic light installation that will be forward-thinking and environmentally-friendly, enhancing the capital’s status as a low carbon beacon and a world leader in cutting edge technology and engineering.

 

‘this competition is a really exciting opportunity – the shortlisted design teams will now have their work showcased in a world class cultural city,’ says london’s mayor, sadiq khan. ‘it’s fantastic that submissions have come from so many different countries: the competition shows that london is open to talent from all around the globe. the illuminated river will breathe new life into the thames and create a dazzling outdoor gallery for londoners to enjoy each night, showing that our capital remains a leader in innovation, sustainability and artistic creativity. I wish all the finalists luck in the next stage of the competition, and look forward to seeing the ideas they come up with.’

 

it is anticipated that jury interviews with the shortlisted practices will take place in late november 2016, with the winner announced in early december.

 

(main image by luke hayes)

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save