HCD2024 Awards: Winners revealed

Launched in July, the Awards recognise innovation and excellence in conceptualising, planning, designing and constructing the urban built environment, in respect of its vital relevance to two highly interdependent fields: human health and wellbeing, and the principles of planetary health and sustainable development.

Trophies were presented across seven categories, encompassing design for homes and workplaces, neighbourhoods, placemaking, transport and mobility, social infrastructure, city-wide developments and, finally, the contribution of the research community to advancing knowledge in this field.

Winner of the ‘Healthy city planning and design’ category was The Fairer, Healthier Liverpool Approach to Planning and Public Health, Liverpool, UK – commissioned and designed by Liverpool City Council. Another Liverpool project, Liverpool Baltic Station, was triumphant in the ‘Healthy transport and mobility’ category. Commissioned by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the project was designed and planned by Mott MacDonald and Owen Ellis Architects.

A vision to transform a polluted and traffic-dominated street into a climate-resilient, healthy, and child-friendly one, ‘Reimagining Great Ormond Street and Queen Square’ took top prize in the ‘Healthy placemaking for community impact’ field. The project was commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS FT and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, with LDA Design as lead designer.

Another successful healthcare project was Northumbria Health and Care Academy, this time in the ‘Healthy workplaces’ section. Commissioned by Assura with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the project was designed by P+HS Architects and constructed by Meldrum Group. And in the ‘Healthy homes and neighbourhoods’ category, Cannock Mill Cohousing, designed by Anne Thorne Architects, took top honours.

The one international project to win was Thuthuzela Care Centre Courtyard Prototype Design, in South Africa. Successful in the ‘Healthy social infrastructure’ section, the project is a one-stop post-violence care facility commissioned by NACOSA, designed by James Finnie Consulting Architect and developed by BTS Projects.

The most competitive category was the ‘Design research for healthy cities’ field. This was won by ‘Streets for Diversity: Exploring how neurodivergent people experience streets’, authored by Katie Gaudion PhD, Mphil and Dan Phillips MSt, BEng, and funded by Rees Jeffreys Road Fund.

The final award was the annual Design Champion, which was presented to Rachel Cooper OBE, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Design Management and Policy at Lancaster University.

* Congress Awards were also awards for Best Poster, Best Research Paper and Most Innovative Idea:

Congress Awards

Best Research Paper:
• Storytelling methodologies for urban health research and practice
Dr Helen Pineo, University of Washington, USA

Best Poster:
• Overheating adaptation guide for homes
Polly Turton, Shade the UK, UK

Most Innovative Idea:
• Spotlighting community research as a tool to explore health inequalities with communities
Sharon Brooks, Swiss Media, UK
Gabriel Ajala, Geroff Visuals, UK
Jide Johnson, Aniboxx, UK
Rianna Raymond-Williams, Impact on Urban Health, UK

Healthy City Design Awards 2024

The full shortlist, with winners and highly commended, is as follows:

Design Champion

Rachel Cooper OBE, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Design Management and Policy at Lancaster University, UK

Healthy homes and neighbourhoods

Winner:
• Cannock Mill Cohousing, Colchester, UK
Commissioned by Cannock Mill Cohousing Ltd
Designed by Anne Thorne Architects LLP

Highly Commended:
• Climate Innovation District, Leeds, UK
Commissioned, designed and developed by Citu

Highly Commended:
• Gascoigne East Phase 2, London, UK
Commissioned by Be First Regeneration
Designed by White Arkitekter
Developed by Wilmott Dixon Construction

Judges: Rebecca Morley, Healthy homes and communities consultant, USA/UK
Sunand Prasad, UKGBC; Perkins&Will, UK
Chris Brown, London Doughnut Economy Coalition CIC, UK

Healthy transport and mobility

Winner:
• Liverpool Baltic Station, Liverpool, UK
Commissioned by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority & Network Rail
Designed and planned by Mott MacDonald & Owen Ellis Architects

Highly Commended:
• Liverpool Green Lanes, Liverpool, UK
Designed and planned by Ryder Architecture in collaboration with Okana

Judges: Mario Bozzo, Independent planning and transport consultant, Canada
Jamie Anderson, Urban 360, UK

Healthy workplaces

Winner:
• Northumbria Health and Care Academy, Northumberland, UK
Commissioned by Assura plc with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Designed by P+HS Architects
Constructed by Meldrum Group

Highly Commended:
• Hawkins\Brown Studio, London, UK
Commissioned and designed by Hawkins\Brown

Highly Commended:

• Intermain HQ, Alexandria, Australia
Commissioned by Intermain
Designed by BVN with Intermain

Judges: Prof Jeremy Myerson, HCD2024; WORKTECH Academy; Royal College of Art, UK
Blake Jackson, Director – sustainability, NORR, USA

Healthy social infrastructure

Winner:
• Thuthuzela Care Centre Courtyard Prototype Design, Cape Town, South Africa
Commissioned by NACOSA
Designed by James Finnie consulting architect
Developed by BTS Projects

Highly Commended:
• Community Resource Center (CRC) – A Community-based Convergence Platform to Address Urban Inequity, Ahmedabad, India
Commissioned, developed and designed by Saath Charitable Trust

Judges: Beatrice Fraenkel, Design regeneration and health consultant, UK
Chris Shaw, Independent consultant, UK
Jaime Bishop, Fleet Architects; Architects for Health, UK

Healthy city planning and design

Winner:
• The Fairer, Healthier Liverpool Approach to Planning and Public Health, Liverpool, UK
Commissioned by Liverpool City Council
Designed by Liverpool City Council

Highly Commended:
• Begbroke Innovation District, Oxford, UK
Commissioned by OUD (Oxford University Development)
Designed by Hawkins\Brown

Highly Commended:
• Frome Gateway, Bristol, UK
Commissioned by Bristol City Council
Strategic planning by Mott MacDonald
Designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Judges: Max Farrell, LDN Collective, UK
Shaun Andrews, Prior + Partners, UK
Giselle Sebag, International Society for Urban Health, USA

Healthy placemaking for community impact

Winner:
• Reimagining Great Ormond Street and Queen Square, London, UK
Commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
Lead Designer: LDA Design

Highly Commended:
• Your Place Carlisle, Carlisle, UK
Commissioned and developed by Cumberland Council

Judges: Mark Drane, Urban Habitats, UK
Sunand Prasad, UKGBC; Perkins&Will, UK

Design research for healthy cities

Winner:
• Streets for Diversity: Exploring how neurodivergent people experience streets, UK
Authored by Katie Gaudion PhD, Mphil and Dan Phillips MSt, BEng
Funded by Rees Jeffreys Road Fund

Highly Commended:
• Empowering healthy places: Unveiling the powers and practices of local councils in fostering healthy neighbourhoods, UK
Authored by Shaun Andrews BSc Hons (DipUP) MRTPI, Emma Cooke BA(Hons) PGDip CIPR,
David Fothergill MBA, Emily Hackett MSc, Becky Mumford BASc MSc MRTPI and Jordan Whitewood-Neal MArch MRes
Funded by Local Government Association

Highly Commended:
• Brent Cross Town (BXT) Flourishing Index
Lead author: Jamie Anderson (University of Manchester & Buro Happold); Brent Cross Town leads: Carolina Correia (Related Argent) and Lorna Gott (London Borough of Barnet); Graphics lead: Alessandro Boarretto (Buro Happold), UK
Funded by Brent Cross Town, a partnership between Related Argent and Barnet Council; and ESRC & EPSRC.
Dedicated to late Professor Felicia Huppert

Highly Commended:
• Engagement Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work, UK
Authored by Jo Morrison PhD, Sarah Jones-Morris MA, Rachel Goater MA and Paul Ruffles MA
Funded by Association of Collaborative Design, Sustrans and the Royal Institute of British Architects

Judges: Dr Rachel Cooper, Lancaster University, UK
Dr Helen Pineo, University of Washington, USA