Wei Yang & Partners in collaboration with Buro Happold have been selected as a finalist for the Wolfson Economics Prize 2014
04 Jun 2014
Simon Wolfson, founder of the prestigious Wolfson Economics Prize, today announced that Wei Yang & Partners in collaboration with Buro Happold is one of the five finalists for the Wolfson Economics Prize 2014.
There were 279 entries to the competition.
Wei Yang & Partners and Buro Happold's joint entry argues that an ‘arc’ beyond the London Green Belt (stretching from Portsmouth to Oxford to Cambridge to Felixstowe) is the best location for the development of new garden cities; and that the Government should publish a New Garden Cities Strategy identifying broad ‘areas of search’ for suitable locations, with a 30 year timescale.
Dr Wei Yang, Chairman of Wei Yang & Partners, said:
“We are delighted that, with Buro Happold, we are one of the finalists in the Wolfson Economics Prize 2014. The competition gives us the freedom to explore new ideas for the planning, design, delivery and management of new garden cities, capturing the essence of the original idea but adapting it to a more complex, 21st century context.”
Pat Willoughby, Planning Partner of Wei Yang & Partners, said:
“Our Primary Submission sets out a framework for choosing garden city locations; integrating social, economic and environmental considerations; placing sustainability at the heart of the design; and new models for delivery, governance and stewardship. We very much look forward to developing our ideas over the next couple of months.”
At £250,000 the Wolfson Economics Prize 2014 is the second-biggest cash economics prize after the Nobel Prize. The prize seeks to find the best answer to the following question: “How would you deliver a new Garden City which is visionary, economically viable and popular?”
The finalists have until 11 August 2014 to refine their submission and re-submit for re-judging. A decision on the overall winner is expected in September 2014.
For more information about the Prize, please see http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/wolfsonprize/item/wolfson-economics-prize-2014
