Winning the Upper Orwell Crossings Competition is Foster + Partners with two new river crossings and a strategic scheme which revives connectivity in the town of Ipswich.     

Including the refurbishment of an existing lock, Foster + Partners have created a comprehensive way in which to revitalise the heart of the town through the improved connectivity and new public spaces. The project places the River Orwell at the centre, with a focus on encouraging walking and cycling in this place of natural beauty. Their approach to the site was described by Suffolk County Council as  being a “very appropriate response to the waterfront context and townscape, as well as acting as a catalyst for regeneration of the wider harbour area.”  

The practice, for whom “Ipswich holds a special place in [their] hearts” (their landmark project, the Willis Faber building,1975, was one of the first to be designed by the firm), were chosen as the winners by a panel including Sir Michael Hopkins CBE with Lady Patty Hopkins (fellow Founding Partner of Hopkins Architects) and Ben Gummer (MP for Ipswich), beating four other international teams.