A green and creative vision for the Low Line



The Low Line Design Competition


UK and international architects, landscape architects, ecologists and other disciplines are invited to enter this open design competition for the development of an ecological vision and strategy for the Low Line. The competition is supported by Lund Trust, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.

The competition will be in two phases. During the first phase, the Low Line Steering Group invites conceptual designs which will be evaluated anonymously. Following this initial evaluation five submissions will be shortlisted and invited to take part in phase two of the competition for which they will be awarded an honoraria.

During phase two of the competition, anonymity will remain, more detailed briefing information will be available and the shortlisted design teams will be asked to develop their designs further in line with the feedback received from their Phase One submissions and the additional information provided. The winning team will be invited to develop the vision in greater detail.


The Challenge


The Low Line is a bold and ambitious idea. It will unfold over time, incrementally joining up as different sites along and adjacent to the viaduct are redeveloped or repurposed. This competition seeks to develop a unifying vision and strategy to inform the delivery of a range of greening and biodiversity enhancements along and adjacent to the Low Line that can be implemented organically over time as the Low Line route evolves. Proposals and ideas that offer flexible, creative and sustainable approaches of delivery are welcome.


Good Growth


The Low Line partnership has evolved with recent development funding from the Greater London Authority's Good Growth Fund, and it is within this context that this competition is being commissioned.

The Good Growth Fund is the Mayor of London's £70 million regeneration programme to support growth and community development in London. Working with the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), the fund supports innovative, best practice regeneration activities, that respond to three strategic challenges in London: to empower people, to make better places and to grow prosperity. These challenges are interrelated.

Good growth should enable an inclusive city, with pleasant and healthy places to work and live in, and to visit and enjoy. We are interested in holistic and multifaceted responses to this competition that help to secure the long-term social, environmental and economic sustainability of the Low Line and its' wider area.



Supported by

Low Line partners



© Royal Institute of British Architects 2019