George Clarke 'buzzing' at amazing Washington 60 Design Challenge winners
George Clarke returned to his roots to help Washington New Town celebrate its 60th birthday. George was in Washington to announce the winners of a creative design challenge for schools in the town where he grew up.
The Washington 60 Design Challenge was organised to celebrate the landmark 60th birthday of the designation of the new town on 24th July 1964 and was run by MOBIE in partnership with Sunderland City Council's Washington Area Committee.
Young people from schools across Washington were challenged to come up with their vision for an innovative residential community for the next 60 years. School children were asked to design a 21st century super sustainable ‘courtyard’ style housing scheme for all ages designed around a pedestrianised courtyard square - in line with the essential features of the original 1960s plan for Washington New Town. Most schools in Washington took part in the design challenge.
George Clarke grew up in Washington New Town in the 1970s and he went to Blackfell Primary School and Oxclose Secondary School, before going on to Sunderland College. He then went on to Newcastle University, where he became the first student from a vocational background to study architecture there before starting work at Faulkner Browns Architects.
Commenting on the challenge, George said: "MOBIE have run several student design challenges across all parts of the country over the last few years, but this one is very special to me personally. I grew up in Washington and so loved the home and the community where I lived.
"It is great to be celebrating Washington New Town's 60th anniversary with a design competition. I am absolutely delighted and amazed by how so many of the schools here have engaged with our homes design challenge.
"Most of the local schools, both primary and secondary, have participated in our design workshop sessions over the last few months and today is the opportunity for them to showcase some of their designs and models. They have all worked so hard and hopefully learnt a lot about home design, sustainable materials and thought about how people will live here over the next 60 years.
"Picking the winners and awarding the prizes has been so hard. A massive thank you to every school, teacher and student who have helped to make this challenge so exciting."
Councillor Sean Laws, Chair of the Washington 60 Steering Group that organised the town's 60th birthday celebrations, said: "We were delighted to welcome George back to Washington to kick off our birthday weekend celebrations.
"When it first became a new town in 1964, Washington was hailed for its innovative and forward-thinking residential designs for homes and for establishing long lasting communities.
"So when we began planning our 60th birthday celebrations last year, we thought it would be a lovely idea to ask the town's young people of today what they would come up with if they were designing their own Washington New Town of the future. And naturally we could think of no-one better to lead this special birthday challenge than Washington's very own George Clarke.
"It's been a brilliant opportunity for the schools involved and who knows, some of the wonderfully talented youngsters who took part might even be inspired to follow in George's footsteps and take up architecture as a career, which would be a fantastic legacy."
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, who also attended the finals, said: "Washington has always been a pioneering place with a very proud and rich history. That spirit from the town's foundation is just as strong today on its 60th birthday. It's inspiring to see the town's young people show off their talent and I'd like to congratulate all the children who took part on their excellent efforts to imagine what Washington might look like in the future.
Empowering young people in the design of the built environment not only leads to the creation of intelligent and safe spaces but also nurtures the next generation of planners, architects, engineers, and design thinkers. This collaborative effort ensures a forward-looking approach to urban development, primed to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
"I hope some will be inspired to follow in George Clarke's footsteps and make their mark on architecture and design in the region and beyond. We know our North East is a beautiful part of the world and the designs we've seen today show our future is in safe hands with the creativity of the next generation."
Children from nine of the 10 shortlisted entries attended an awards ceremony at the Washington Arts Centre on 19th July. Barmston Village Primary School were the winners in the 7 - 11 Primary School Category, with George Washington Primary School and Harry Watts Academy named as runners up. St Robert's School and Biddick Academy were joint winners of the 12 - 16 Secondary School Category, with Oxclose Community Academy named as runner up.
Among the prizes awarded to the winners were:
- 40 copies of George’s book - How To Build A Home – donated by his publishers’ Harper Collins
- 50 pairs of match day tickets - donated by Sunderland Athletic Football Club
- 32 tickets for forthcoming shows - donated by the Sunderland Empire Theatre
- £2,000 from Lovell to take 4 classes of children to Beamish Museum for the day
- 3D laser cut models of some of the award-winning designs and for older pupils the chance to shadow architectural students – donated by Newcastle University