Congratulations to Studio Mutt and Neighbourhood with The Independence Initiative, Hugh Baird College, Islington Hostel Outreach, Amber Akaunu, Peter O’Neil, Dead Good Poets Society on winning this year’s £10,000 prize.
The Davidson Prize awards ceremony was held on June 20th as part of the London Festival of Architecture at the Istituto Marangoni in Shoreditch.
The ceremony was attended by this year’s jury panel, our Chair, Sadie Morgan, Founder of dRMM and The Quality of Life Foundation, Yemí Aládérun, Senior Development Manager at Meridian Water for Enfield Council, Osama Bhutta, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Communications at Shelter, Priya Khanchandani Head of Curatorial & Interpretation at the Design Museum and Charles Holland, Principal of Charles Holland Architects (winner of the 2022 Davidson Prize).
First up was the People’s Choice Prize then each of the 3 finalists presented their concepts before The Davidson Prize winner was announced by Sadie Morgan. Thank you to everyone who came down to celebrate the 2023 longlisted, finalist and winning submissions of The Davidson Prize.
Winner
Helping Hands: Studio Mutt and Neighbourhood with The Independence Initiative, Hugh Baird College, Islington Hostel Outreach, Amber Akaunu, Peter O’Neil, Dead Good Poets Society.
Helping Hands addresses the urgent need for temporary homeless accommodation and support services in Bootle, Liverpool, with a particular focus on the needs of young people leaving the care system. The team’s project proposes a nurturing communal landscape for people facing homelessness – co-created by residents, neighbours and specialist support organisations.
Sadie Morgan, Chair of the 2023 Davidson Prize jury, said:
“The idea of homelessness is unsettling to all of us, but the care and quality of creative thought behind this year’s submissions to The Davidson Prize has helped push the debate forward with innovative and workable solutions. Collectively, this year’s entries show the value of multidisciplinary design thinking to a subject that needs tackling now. Choosing an outright winner was tough; what tipped it for Helping Hands was the sense of people working together on the ground, building on existing community infrastructure, and taking collective responsibility for a better future.
The level and quality of engagement with service users and providers was extremely impressive, and the judges applaud the idea of a project deeply rooted in place. The solution applies design intelligence to tap into and join up local support networks – with tangible and visible results.”
