Monday 7 Jan 2008
NEW STREET GATEWAY PROJECT TO SEEK VISIONARY CONCEPT DESIGNER
- Region & Route:
The New Street Gateway partnership has today appointed the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to launch and manage the selection process for a Concept Designer to develop the overarching building vision for the project to redevelop New Street station and the surrounding area. The partnership, which involves Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands; Centro (West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive); Department for Transport (DfT) will work with the RIBA Competitions Office to award the contract to define the external form of the proposed flagship £550m redevelopment. The Concept Designer will be responsible for developing and maintaining a strong architectural language for the site’s external facades and atrium roof aspects of the project. Martin Chambers, Network Rail’s Project Director said: “This is an excellent opportunity to create a design that lives up to the station’s status as one of the most important rail hubs in the country. Its design will need to act on both a functional and symbolic level and reflect the aspirations of modern day Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region.” Councillor Mike Whitby, Chairman of the Gateway Steering Group and Leader of the City Council said, “Achieving a first-class design for the redeveloped New Street Station is a fundamental part of our drive to further Birmingham's position on the world stage, which is the core of our City Centre Masterplan. "We want to create an attractive and iconic landmark for local people and the 30 million plus visitors who come to Birmingham each year. I hope that with some imaginative design, New Street will act as a beacon of good design at the heart of our regenerated city centre." With the volume of passengers expected to grow over the next twenty years, Birmingham New Street station in its current format will have insufficient capacity to meet the forecast passenger demand. The New Street Gateway project has been drawn up in response to address the challenges the current station faces. From the initial Expressions of Interest, up to six Designers will be invited to produce an architectural model and concept design sketches in response to the site context and attend an interview to outline their vision to the Jury Panel. 'For a Preliminary Briefing Paper and details of how to enter the competition please contact the RIBA Competitions Office: Tel. +44 (0)113-234-1335 or visit www.architecture.com/competitions. The Expression of Interest deadline is 12.00hrs GMT on Monday 28 January 2008'.
Notes to editors
Further details of the tender can be found in the attached OJEU document The Government announced £128m of funding for New Street Gateway in July 2007 Further decisions as part of the Department for Transport’s Regional Funding Allocation, and a joint Birmingham City Council/Advantage West Midlands bid for money from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) are expected to be made in the New Year In total the New Street Gateway Steering Committee has bid for £350 million in public money to fund the redevelopment, which, once secured, will unlock a further £200 million in private sector investment for the scheme New Street Gateway will see the 1960s built station undergo a dramatic redevelopment, transforming the dark, crowded underground station into a bright, modern 21st Century transport hub for Birmingham and the West Midlands region The project will double passenger capacity of the station, relieving congestion and be a catalyst for creating more than 5,000 jobs The project will redevelop and regenerate the area around the station and will include better pedestrian connections right across the city centre The New Street Gateway Steering Group is made up of representatives from: Birmingham City Council, Network Rail, Centro WMPTA and Advantage West Midlands Each of the short-listed teams will receive an honorarium payment of GBP £10,000 (plus VAT) Please ensure that the RIBA is credited when mentioning the above competition. The RIBA Competitions Office organises bespoke architectural competitions that encourage excellence in design, offer value for money, and are run smoothly from inception through to the appointment of a winning design or architect/team. The Competitions Office has vast experience of managing competitions for a diverse range of clients, project types and budgets. The competition process has produced landmark buildings/structures such as BALTIC, The Sage Gateshead, and the Millennium Bridge For further details please visit http://www.architecture.com/competitions
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