Shortlist

Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Diller Scofidio + Renfro is an interdisciplinary studio that fuses architecture with the visual and performing arts. The studio originated as Diller + Scofidio, founded in 1979 by Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio. Charles Renfro joined the studio in 1997 and became partner in 2004. Over the years DS+R has grown from a collaborative art partnership to a staff of 75 with three partners, seven administrators, and 65 architects and designers, including over a dozen project architects each with 15 - 20 years of experience on complex projects in the public realm.

Team members for the project include Keppie Design, a Scottish architect practice, and Olin Studio, landscape architects from the US based in Philadelphia.

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Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners is an international studio for architecture, engineering, planning and design. The practice’s work ranges in scale from the largest single building on the planet, Beijing International airport, to its smallest commission, a range of door furniture. The scope of its work includes masterplans for cities, the design of buildings, interior and product design. There is also a strong interest in city planning and the infrastructure of communication. Projects can be found on six continents throughout the world: Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia.

Established as Foster Associates in 1967 the practice, now known as Foster + Partners, has its main studio in London. There are branch offices in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, New York, Riyadh, San Francisco and Singapore and further site offices in several other locations. Since its inception the practice has worked in over 75 countries, has received more than 580 awards and citations for design excellence and has won over 100 national and international competitions.

Foster+ Partners is collaborating with Lebanon based Vladimir Djurovic Landscape architects, a practice working across the globe on major city international in Toronto, Beirut and New Delhi.

Cost and construction consultant Gardiner & Theobald is also part of the team.

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Gustafson Porter

Kathryn Gustafson is well known for her conceptual design skills and sensual land forms, and has 25 years of experience as a landscape designer. Neil Porter is a talented designer who has worked with many of London’s leading architectural practices. He has over 20 years of experience in both architecture and landscape design.

Completed projects include Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, the interior landscape of the Great Glass House at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, two courtyards for the Government Offices, Swiss Cottage Open Space and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London. Old Market Square in Nottingham is the UK’s second largest public square after Trafalgar Square and has received numerous awards for the design quality within the public realm. These projects established a solid reputation for designing and executing high quality contemporary landscapes within often complex historical contexts.

Gustafson Porter is collaborating with urban analysis specialists Space Syntax, architect Niall McLaughlin Architects and engineer Arup and cost adviser Jackson Coles.

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Mecanoo

Mecanoo, founded in Delft in 1984, is made up of a highly multidisciplinary staff of over 90 creative professionals from 25 nationalities and includes architects, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects and architectural technicians. The company is directed by its original founding architect, Prof. ir. Francine M.J. Houben and technical director Aart Fransen and are joined by partners Francesco Veenstra, Ellen van der Wal and Paul Ketelaars. The extensive experience gained over more than 25 years, together with structured planning processes results in designs that are realized with technical expertise and great attention to detail.

Mecanoo is working with Glasgow based Urban Design Architect Cooper Cromar, and Ian White Landscape Architects and engineer Buro Happold and cost adviser Davis Langdon (AECOM).

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Snøhetta & Hoskins

Gareth Hoskins Architects

Based in Glasgow but working all over Britain and further afield, Gareth Hoskins Architects is one of the leading architectural design practices in the UK. The practice has a particular reputation for place making, with a portfolio of major public projects in the arts and cultural sector, and has become recognised for a considered yet creative approach to working with listed buildings and in historic or sensitive settings.

The practice has won numerous awards including Architect of the Year, RIBA National Award, BCI Regeneration Award, Architectural Grand Prix, and has had final placings for the Prime Ministers Better Building Award and the World Architecture Awards.

Snøhetta

Formed in 1989 and led by principals Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen, Snøhetta is an award-winning international architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design firm based in Oslo, Norway, and New York City.

The firm has completed a number of critically acclaimed cultural projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt; the new National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway; and the Lillehammer

Art Museum, built for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. Current projects include the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Centre site, New York. In 2004 the company received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and in 2009 it was honoured with the Mies van der Rohe Award. Snøhetta is the only company to have twice won the World Architecture Award for best cultural building, in 2002 for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and in 2008 for the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo.

The practices are working in association with engineering and mult-discipline company AECOM.

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West 8

West 8 is an award-winning international office for urban design and landscape architecture founded in 1987. Over the last 20 years West 8 has established itself as a leading practice with an international team of 70 architects, urban designers, landscape architects and industrial engineers. West 8 developed projects all over the world in places such as Copenhagen, London, Moscow, New York, Madrid, Toronto and Amsterdam. The office gained international recognition with projects such as Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam (NL), Borneo-Sporenburg in Amsterdam (NL), Chiswick Park in London (UK) and Expo ‘02 in Yverdon-les-Bains (CH). Many of the projects are the result of groundbreaking entries in important international competitions. Recently won competitions include Toronto Waterfront in Toronto (CA), Governors Island in New York (US A) and Playa de Palma in Mallorca (ES). Amongst the numerous awards received by West 8 are the Honor Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASL A), the International Urban Landscape Gold Award (IUL A), the Prix de Rome, the Dutch Maaskant Award, the Bijhouwer Award, the Rosa Barba First European Landscape Prize, the Green Pin and the Veronica Rudge Green Prize for Urban Design.

West 8 is working in association with Archial Group, engineer Arup and cost and construction consultant Turner & Townsend.

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