Kohn Pedersen Fox's masterplan for 拢2bn scheme needs 'major rethink' says design review panel

Kohn Pedersen Fox鈥檚 masterplan for Victoria must be taken back to the drawing board, according to CABE鈥檚 design review panel.

The panel said the masterplan for the controversial 拢2bn scheme needed a 鈥渕ajor rethink,鈥� and slammed the layout of the buildings, the public spaces and the lack of consideration to sustainability.

In addition, one of the scheme鈥檚 buildings, again designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is an 鈥渋nelegant mass鈥� that needs to be 鈥渇undamentally rethought,鈥� according to the panel.

The central square, to be known as 鈥淪tation Place鈥�, comes in for the most criticism, with the panel claiming it seems more like a 鈥渓eftover space鈥� than a place with character of its own.

The review said: 鈥淲e are not convinced that the approach taken has learnt from unsuccessful modernist object-based planning of the past.鈥�

The importance of sustainablility to the development has not been sufficiently considered, claims the panel: 鈥淚t is not evident in the built form that sustainability issues have been integral to the design thinking.鈥�

The individual buildings, designed by KPF, Wilkinson Eyre, and Benson and Forsyth, avoid the bulk of the panel鈥檚 criticism.

However, KPF鈥檚 鈥満蒙壬鶷V 6鈥� is a notable exception. The review says: 鈥淭he building is neither a street building, an object building nor a tower鈥� it appears that the building鈥檚 form has been dictated by the contraints of view corridors alone, rather than by an architectural idea of its own.鈥�

The scheme, which is being developed by Land Securities, was the subject of a stormy public meeting in Westminer earlier this month.

Councillors have asked for the building鈥檚 towers to be reduced in height by up to a third.