Clean Streets design challenge winner announced

Dundee-based product designer Gavin Birmingham has been announced as the winner of the Clean Streets Design Challenge.

He will be working to design a feeder pillar specifically for a prestigious location close to the V&A Dundee on the city’s regenerated waterfront development.

The £3 million Clean Streets project is a ground-breaking multi-partner project funded by Innovate UK. Led by Urban Foresight, the project is demonstrating how on-street EV charging can be convenient while still preserving the unique nature of streetscapes.

The Design Challenge was launched to inspire cities and communities to embrace alternatives to traditional box type feeder pillars which send electricity to the charging points. The aim is to achieve something that better integrates into a variety of street scenes and can improve the aesthetics and functionality of public space.

The announcement of the Design Challenge winner is an exciting milestone in the project, which has progressed with only minor delays through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urban Foresight’s project manager Clare Pennington said: “The judging panel were really impressed by the fantastic response to the competition and it will be great to see Gavin’s ideas take shape for this prestigious site in Dundee. The product developers at Urban Electric and Duku have made excellent progress with the pop-up chargers and we’re really looking forward to rolling them out across Dundee and Plymouth in the very near future.”

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