To partially reduce London’s housing shortage, the project proposes a straightforward and resourceful solution, namely, to construct living units on elevated platforms over public parking spaces all over the city. Intended for young people and municipal workers (firefighters, nurses, police personnel, etc.), the units are economically affordable, insofar as land costs are replaced by the leasing of air rights. The building units are entirely based on prefabricated elements that can easily be assembled on site, thus further reducing construction costs. Adhering to the principle of minimizing emissions in the building sector in general, the project avoids the use of fossil energy for both the manufacturing process as well as for operations and maintenance – contributing, in effect, to a low-carbon architecture.

Praising the idea of building above existing parking spaces, the jury fully endorsed the author’s vision of an architecture that is socially responsible, ecologically sound, and economically affordable. Considering in addition that the project is both innovative and transferable, proof is undoubtedly offered that the design indeed meets the “target issues” set forth by the LafargeHolcim Foundation – at least for the most part, as noted by the jury during the deliberation process. The scheme’s qualities and benefits notwithstanding, some jury members nonetheless raised the question as to whether aesthetic considerations were consciously addressed or whether architectural expression was simply considered a result of technical and material exigencies. Criticism aside, the design intelligently manages to translate a vision into reality, one that could undoubtedly benefit from the project’s foresightedness.