Chris Dove and Craig Mitchell architectural students from Liverpool John Moores University have been declared as the winners of the City of London Corporation’s Stone Bench Competition 2012.

Aimed at promoting young innovative architectural design and stone masonry skills the competition was opened in March to architecture students who were given the challenge of creating a new stone bench to enhance the streetscape of Cheapside.

Students were awarded points for the visual impact of the design its functionality and consideration of practical issues such as weathering and ease of maintenance. Part of the challenge was to create the bench out of a single block of quarried Portland stone.

Mr. Jeremy Simons CC Chairman of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee is the Chairman of the Judging panel which also includes Mr Archie Galloway OBE CC (Deputy Chairman) and representatives from project sponsors including Cathedral Works Organisation (CWO) Albion Stone Plc Realstone the Worshipful Company of Masons and the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects along with previous competition winner Priscilla Fernandes and Revd Dr Alan McCormack.

Competition winners Chris Dove and Craig Mitchell submitted a team entry and will now be actively involved throughout each stage of the production of their bench design.

Jeremy Simons CC Chairman of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee said:

“The standard of the competition entries was extremely high which presented a challenging task for the Judges. I am delighted with the winning entry and I am looking forward to the unveiling.”

Chris Dove and Craig Mitchell said:

"We are really excited to have won this prestigious competition. Designing 'Stone Bench' is something we are both extremely passionate about and the idea to create an object that will form a new public gathering point in London is something we are incredibly proud of."

"Stone Bench consists of ten hand and machine carved Grove Whitbed Portland Stone blocks which continuously increase in size giving the appearance of the bench growing out of the ground. This allows variable seating conditions for people of all ages creating a new public space for Cheapside yet allowing the busy public traffic of the area to continue unaffected."

"We are both really excited about the opportunity to work with the Stone Masons to turn the idea into reality drawing on their skill knowledge and expertise."

The winning bench design is due to be carved over the summer months by apprentice masons at CWO’s workshop in Chichester and will be officially unveiled on Cheapside in October 2012.