Young Designers Award and Isle of Wight Regeneration Conference

Yesterday, the annual Isle of Wight Regeneration Conference took place in Wootton, where Councillors Wayne Whittle and Dave Stewart presented Taylor Millard with the Young Designers Award Overall Winner 2018.  Inspired by her disabled brother and his peers, the winning design was a sensory bridge called ‘Medina Quay Under the Sea’ incorporating touch, colour, light, and sound.The IW Council Regeneration Team is set out to rediscover and celebrate Newport’s identity, creating compelling reasons to visit, invest and return, make it easier to get in and out of Newport and offer safer places to cross on foot or by bike and build better connections between the people who live in Newport and the decision makers.This year, they discussed the work that the University of Portsmouth Year 3 Architecture students had completed; where they had to join groups in the first semester and analyse Newport, Shanklin and Ryde, and assess what was, and more importantly, what wasn’t working. After this, the students separated and worked proposals into detailed design schemes key for the regeneration.Owners of key local businesses also spoke at the conference as they are working in assisting the Isle of Wight council to promote regeneration both physically and economically.Overall, the team highlighted the progress they had made and showed some very exciting things to come into motion for numerous sites round the island.In Newport high street a dedicated space has been set aside for exhibiting the finalists of this year’s young designers award. Aside them, are the University of Portsmouth’s Year 3 Architecture students work presenting their inspiring regeneration work. This exhibition will be open for the next 10 days, 10am till 4pm, for the public to view.