Cadogan Estate calls for new project at Duke of York Square

A competition to design a new £2 million café off the King’s Road in Chelsea has attracted the interest of 300 practices.

The café will be built in Duke of York Square next door to the Saatchi Gallery for Cadogan Estate. It will replace the existing Gelateria Valerie café, which the developer said was struggling to cope with visitors, and work on site is set to start next year.

The competition, which is being run by Malcolm Reading Consultants, has been pitched at emerging practices although Reading said a number of well-established practices had also shown interest.

Reading said he wasn’t surprised by the number of firms chasing the west London job but played down suggestions the number had been inflated because of a lack of work elsewhere.

“It’s pretty good exposure for the firm that wins it,” he said. “It’s small job but could have a major effect on the winner. I think people recognise this might not be the last competition they run.”

Cadogan Estate was behind the redevelopment of Duke of York Square turning it from a closed military barracks to a mixed-use scheme.

Reading said he expected up to half of the 300 to submit proposals later this month before a shortlist is drawn up in September. A winner is due to named in October with planning being submitted next spring.

Around one fifth of those eyeing the job are from overseas and Reading added: “There are firms from the US to Japan. Maybe it’s the Olympic effect.”