Cass alumnus Yinka Illori wins second London Festival of Architecture award.
Date: 19 October 2018
Yinka Illori, a Cass Furniture alumnus and London-based designer, has won the London Festival of Architecture’s (LFA) Thessaly Road Railway Bridge design competition.
The competition, organised by both the LFA and Wandsworth Council, revolves around contestants creating designs to revitalise the Thessaly Road Railway Bridge in Nine Elms. This is the first phase of Wandsworth Council’s initiative to transform Thessaly Road into a main transport route for the public.
Yinka’s design proposal, named Happy Street, hopes to be an interactive, immersive and multi-sensory experience by using brightly coloured panels and lights which shift over the course of the day due to the environment. Yinka’s body of work involves innovative upcycling of vintage furniture and is inspired by the African influences of his youth, aiming to blend Nigerian traditions with contemporary design.
Commenting on his win, Yinka said:
‘I am very grateful to the LFA team and the local community around Thessaly Road for believing in Happy Street and am looking forward to bringing the rainbow to the underpass. This is a very special project with a very special community and I feel honoured to have been given this opportunity’.
Marianne Forrest, Head of Cass 3D, said:
“Yinka exemplifies The Cass’ approach to creative practice with his brave and exciting responses to the briefs for both the pavilion and the railway bridge. His particular focus on the issues surrounding these site specific works have enabled a fresh and vibrant look at people and spaces. We are proud to have Yinka as one of our graduates and know that he will go from strength to strength”.
This is Yinka’s second LFA win this year, having won the 2019 Dulwich Pavilion competition this past July. Yinka’s proposal for the Thessaly Road Railway Bridge was the favourite among local residents, school children and other members of the public, and he will now receive £20,000 to create the winning design to be installed in time for next year’s London Festival of Architecture.
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