This delightful competition was set up to find architects who could design a light, spacious and barrier-free home for the Taussig family and their two young boys, Theo and Oskar, who are suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy*
Their father, Nick, runs the award-winning film company Salon, and part of the excitement of the competition was knowing that he planned to make a documentary film of the competition and the subsequent design and building work.
The project
The Taussig family owned a rather dilapidated cottage in Box Hill, Surrey and were looking to extend the property to create a home that would respond to the ever changing needs of Oscar and Theo. Links to the garden and adaptable spaces were important elements of the brief.
Updates
With the help of Baltimore, who agreed to help the Taussig family with the project management and construction of the new home for Theo and Oskar, the project is now completed and the Taussig family are in residence.
Winners
The competition was won by David Tigg, Rachel Coll, Helen Sutton and Manuel Gonzalez Nogueira of Tigg + Coll Architecture, working with Ian Hamilton of Engenuti
Three other firms were shortlisted:
- Ciarcelluti Mathers Architects, London
- Clague Architects, Canterbury
- Scott Whitby Studio, London
Process
This was an open competition aimed at young and emerging talent, so, registered architects, designers and those from other related disciplines, aged 40 years and under, were invited to take part.
28 submissions were received from across the UK, the Netherlands and the USA.
The Jury Panel, comprising members of the Taussig family, clinical experts and two architectural advisors, John McAslan and Adam Khan, shortlisted four teams for interview.
The shortlisted teams received a modest honorarium to develop their ideas further and, following the interviews, the winner was announced.
The competition process was filmed by Nick Taussig and he plans to continue filming the design and implementation of the project through to completion, with the aim of creating a documentary film that will play at film festivals and be broadcast on domestic television.
Our involvement
- Designing the right competitive process
- Planning the competition timetable and budget to meet client requirements
- Acting as the point of contact for the competition
- Liaising with press and media
- Promoting the competition
- Ensuring a clear and ethical process
- Briefing the jury panel
- Briefing the competitors
- Managing the competition process
- Advising on and helping to implement the scoring / evaluation procedures
- Arranging and facilitating the interviews and presentations
- Creating an audit trail
- Debriefing and follow-up
Facts
* Duchenne MuscularDystrophy is an inherited (genetic) condition which affects the muscles, causing muscle weakness. It is a fatal condition which starts in early childhood and may be noticed when a child has difficulty standing up, climbing or running. The muscle weakness is not noticeable at birth, even though the child is born with the gene which causes it. The weakness develops gradually. It usually shows up in early childhood. Symptoms are mild at first but increase as the child becomes older. About 1 in 3,500 boys in the UK are born with DMD. The name Duchenne comes from the doctor who first studied this condition.Competitors may wish to visit the following links for further information about Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
“I would like to thank Colander for their generosity of spirit in running such a fabulous competition.”
— Nick Taussig