Cardillo

Birnbeck Island Competition

The Winter Gardens, Royal Parade, Weston-super-Mare,  – 

Antonino Cardillo’s proposal for the Birnbeck Island competition featured in the RIBA exhibition at The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, showcasing all 95 entries submitted to the international architectural competition

Exhibition

In December 2007, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) organised an exhibition at The Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare, presenting all 95 entries submitted to the international competition for the redevelopment of Birnbeck Island. Originally intended to showcase only the six shortlisted proposals, the exhibition was expanded to include every submission, reflecting the overall quality and diversity of the ideas received.

The exhibition took place in the Ballroom of The Winter Gardens, a grand Edwardian space that provided an elegant setting for the architectural display. Panels were arranged along the perimeter and central aisles, allowing visitors to explore the full spectrum of visions for the future of Birnbeck Island and its historic pier.

The exhibition was open to the public on 6 and 7 December 2007, offering a rare opportunity to engage with a wide range of architectural approaches to a site of significant cultural and urban value.

Shortlist

  • Levitate Architecture & Design Studio Ltd
  • Richards Partington Architects
  • FLACQ Architects
  • MOH Architects
  • Pierre d’Avoine Architects / White Young Green
  • AOC Architecture Ltd
The Ballroom, The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, 2007

The Ballroom, The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare, 1938

Proposal

Although not selected for the shortlist, Antonino Cardillo’s design for Birnbeck Island was described by the jury as “a very good and quite unique response”, distinguished by a strong conceptual identity that provoked both admiration and critique. The scheme was selected for exhibition and subsequently featured in a number of architectural publications that, while not directly concerned with the competition itself, focused on the singular qualities of Cardillo’s proposal—thus contributing to its historical reception.

References