Local Works Studio and Assemble win NLA Bramcote Park design competition

New London Architecture (NLA) and Southwark Council have revealed the winning entry to the Revive Bramcote Park design competition.

With their proposal ‘A Park Made in Bermondsey’, Local Works Studio and Assemble beat five other shortlisted teams.

They will now begin work with Assemble Play and Webb Yates to develop a creative masterplan that prioritises community input, turning a disjointed public park in South Bermondsey into a valuable and welcoming community green space.

Image: Local Works Studio and Assemble

The team will aim to learn from and work with residents, children, manufacturers, trades, and community leaders to evolve the design further, with the final scheme being delivered in late 2022.

The winning concept features a park of two halves: a public square to the north of Verney Road, and a forest garden to the South.

The forest garden will comprise historic green space to the south of Verney Road, cultivated with open spaces to convey the feeling of a woodland edge or meadow glade. The project team will enrich existing planting with edible and characterful plants from around the world. The diversity in structure and species will enhance habitats for wildlife, and there will be space for future volunteer community gardens to add to the simple structure, cultivate, harvest and care for parts of the garden.

The project team will enhance the open character of the space to the north of Verney Road to create an elegant neighbourhood square, flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of people in the park. The square will be a welcoming space, with a flexible play area that on special occasions can transform to accommodate community events. A green buffer of low-maintenance planting and grass, dotted with play features, will surround the hard ground. Trees and seating will line the wide pavement surrounding the square.