A RIBA competition to explore the development possibilities of London’s forgotten spaces has produced a shortlist of 19 schemes from among 150 entries.

The Forgotten Spaces competition, run alongside Design for London and Qatari Diar, features proposals from students and professionals to transform spaces, with proposals from the ‘Millwall Dock Floating Gardens’ to ‘Beckton Alp’.

The winning schemes will not be built, but will receive a cash prize. All of those shortlisted will appear in a public exhibition at the National Theatre on 24 May – 4 July.

Judith Salamon, London First director of property and planning, who helped judge the entries, said: “The sheer number of spaces across London was surprising. The imagination applied to them was extremely impressive: it would be great if some of these projects could make it off the drawing board and into reality.”

Shortlisted schemes include titles such as ‘A New Productive Landscape’, ‘Friern Barnet Sewage Works’, ‘Hanging Gardens of the Circle Line’, ‘Nose to Tail’, ‘Old Kent Paradise’, ‘Reservoir Roofs’, ‘Thames Archipelago’, and ‘Voicebox’.

Jeremy Titchen, development director of Qatari Diar and another judge, said: “Ranging from ‘local solutions for local issues’ to ‘big ideas’ there were a great many innovative proposals that would, if implemented, make a real difference.”

Other judges included Mark Brearley, director of Design for London, Paul Finch, chair of CABE, Tony Heaton, chief executive of Shape, Tamsie Thomson, director of RIBA London and Rowan Moore, architecture critic at the Observer.

http://www.architecture.com/ForgottenSpaces