Help level up a north west resort, lead a US art and culture museum expansion or design net zero homes for a Yorkshire garden village - some of the latest architecture contracts and competitions from across the industry
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Contract
Multidisciplinary team sought to develop an ‘exemplar process and design code’ for the Lancashire seaside resort
Deadline: 12 noon, 29 July 2024
Blackpool Council is on the hunt for a multidisciplinary consultancy team to deliver innovative design codes for the Lancashire town.
Located on the Fylde Coast Peninsula in north west England, Blackpool Council Unitary Authority covers an area of around 35km and has 11.2km of seafront. It attracts around 20 million visitors a year.
According to the specification, the town ‘grew rapidly at the turn of the 20th century, after the arrival of the railway line in 1846, with a period of phenomenal development leaving a legacy of high quality late Victorian architecture, including the iconic Blackpool Tower, piers and Promenade. Successive decades saw the introduction of the Winter Gardens, Pleasure Beach and Golden Mile, along with dense holiday guest houses and small hotels in a grid-iron pattern of terraced streets behind the seafront’.
Since the 1970s, however, visitor number have declined significantly, having a profound effect on the town and resulting in ‘an extremely dysfunctional and unbalanced housing supply in Blackpool’s inner area, which is now dominated by poor quality bedsits and flats and houses in multiple occupation’. Blackpool is the most deprived local authority in England.
The council was recently allocated funding to participate in the Design Code Pathfinder Programme 2024 – 2025 by the Office for Place at the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities. The Office for Place supports the creation and stewardship of more beautiful and sustainable, popular and healthy places and helps local authorities to set clearer quality targets for new development.
The design codes are expected to encourage investment and development in inner Blackpool and support levelling up and regeneration in line with the town’s Local Plan Parts 1 and 2 and with its Marton Moss Neighbour Plan. Marton Moss lies to the south of the borough. The focus will be on residential development and street design, with a chance to explore coding for non-residential areas too, including the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.
According to the brief, proposed design codes should address key planning challenges in Blackpool, which include ‘delivering quality development and place-making in an area with significant viability [issues]… quality homes and neighbourhoods [that] improve the life chances of Blackpool’s inner area communities… [and] maximising all opportunities to develop a greener Blackpool’.
Evaluation criteria for bids: 50 per cent, quality; 20 per cent, social value; 30 per cent, price. Project completion is required by 31 March 2025.
Eligibility Experience of developing design coding within an urban context and how that might apply to the Blackpool context. Three references are required from previous design code commissions.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Blackpool, Lancashire.
Other dates Award of contract, August 2024. Contract, 31 August 2024 to 31 March 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Jenna Douthwaite, Blackpool Council, 01253 477752, jenna.douthwaite@blackpool.gov.uk
Contract
BURNTWOOD DEVELOPMENT MASTERPLAN
Urban planner sought for regeneration of former mining town near Lichfield, Staffordshire
Deadline: 5pm, 19 July 2024
Lichfield District Council is looking for an architect to draw up a masterplan for Burntwood in south-east Staffordshire.
The former mining town lies four miles west of cathedral city Lichfield and is known for being home to Chasewater Country Park, which has a 90ha reservoir, watersports, nature trails and a heritage steam railway.
According to the brief, Burntwood is ‘a strategic priority for regeneration [but], due to the presence of greenbelt surrounding the… area, there are clear challenges for development hence the masterplan will look in detail at opportunities for growth with a strong focus on how current landowners, stakeholders, community organisations and other bodies can support the growth of the area’.
The masterplan will also encompass the nearby conurbations of Chasetown, Boney Hay and Chase Terrace.
The buyer is looking for ‘bold and innovative thinking [about] the future development opportunities across Burntwood in terms of housing, employment land, infrastructure and community with a clear understanding of the importance of [the town’s] rural and natural surroundings’.
Additional priorities include new retail, leisure, recreational, health and educational resources and improvements to environmental quality and public realm.
Regeneration of the town, including a new town centre, is expected to complete by 2038. Evaluation criteria: 70 per cent, quality; 20 per cent, price; 10 per cent, social value. Contract is valued at £75,000.
Procedure Competitive quotation.
Location Burntwood, Staffordshire.
Other dates Award of contract, 31 July 2024. Contract dates, 1 August 2024 to 31 March 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact The Procurement Team, Lichfield District Council, 07929 018547, procurement@lichfielddc.gov.uk
Project competition
NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART, KANSAS CITY
Missouri institution seeks architect for expansion and ‘fascinating proposition’
Deadline To be announced in autumn 2024
The US Nelson-Atkins Musuem of Art has appointed UK competition organiser Malcom Reading Consultants (MRC) to launch a six-month open international architectural competition on its behalf in autumn 2024.
The art museum, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri, is recognised nationally and internationally as one of the finest in the US and holds a collection of more than 42,000 art objects. It is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture and Native American and Egyptian galleries.
Described as ‘a fascinating proposition for architects who love art and culture’, the institution has plans to expand: ‘Within a generation, projected visitors are likely to reach a million a year so the museum needs to prepare’.
The decision to launch an architecture competition follows a series of studies into the future needs of the museum and the local community carried out by museum planning firm Cooper Robertson.
This is expected to be a two-stage open competition, with designs required at stage two. According to the statement, organisers are looking for proposals that ‘inspire community engagement and attract new audiences through exemplary design that will best position the Nelson-Atkins to serve guests for generations to come’.
MRC has run recent competitions for the Dallas Museum of Art, Houston Endowment, the National Gallery, London, and Powerhouse Parramatta, Sydney.
Details on prizes, judging panel, deadlines and design requirements will be released on launch in autumn 2024. See how to register, below.
Competition contact Architects who would like to be notified at the competition’s launch are invited to send their contact details to nelson-atkins@malcolmreading.com
To find out more, go to the competition organiser’s website
Contract
JOSEPH ROWNTREE NET ZERO HOMES, NORTH YORKSHIRE
Housing trust plans to build 123 houses and apartments for social rent and shared ownership in historic New Earswick garden village near York
Deadline: 1pm, 17 July 2024
The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust is looking for a contractor to develop 123 new-build net zero homes in New Earswick, north Yorkshire.
The early 20th-century garden village two-and-a-half miles north of York was designed by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin for the York-born social reformer and philanthropist Rowntree, who bought the 123-acre site in 1901.
All the fixed-rent houses had gardens with fruit trees and enough space to grow vegetables. The roads were named after trees and houses built of local brick. The pair’s pioneering designs were used later in Hampstead Garden Suburb and Letchworth Garden City.
The new homes will be located on Willow Bank and Acacia Avenue. Bidders are ‘requested to return a tender price for achieving the specification and a second price for achieving net zero’ and will be responsible for appointing the architect, principal designer and structural engineer post tender.
Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust is a registered housing association and care provider in York and north-east England. It works alongside the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to support local communities and inspire social change. The trust plans to build 1,000 new homes over the next 10 years.
Estimated value of the 12-month contract is £20 million.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location New Earswick, North Yorkshire.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Gill Flowers, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, gill.flowers@jrf.org.uk
Contract
MASTER DEVELOPER, NORTH QUAY, GREAT YARMOUTH
Masterplanner sought for 10-acre riverside site in Broads National Park
Deadline: 12 noon, 16 July 2024
East Suffolk Council is looking for a masterplanner to work on ‘the most significant development opportunity in a generation’ - the regeneration of the North Quay Riverside area of Great Yarmouth.
The East Anglian resort town is located in the Broads National Park and is known as the gateway between the Norfolk Broads and the North Sea and also for its long sandy beach.
The 10-acre site lies on the south bank of the River Bure, running from Bure Bridge in the north to Fishers’ Quay in the south. The mixed-use development will include residential, commercial, leisure and public realm.
The successful bidder is expected to create a ‘transformational place shaping design that builds an identifiable brand for North Quay’ with a comprehensive masterplan for the project to RIBA stage 3, which includes maximising employment opportunities, creating a sustainable neighbourhood and increasing footfall to the site. A planning application must be submitted no later than January 2026.
According to the brief, the proposals must ‘recognise the pivotal role of the site as a prominent gateway, open up public access to and maximise active usage of the river frontage… conserve and enhance the historic environment and designated heritage assets of the site [and] maintain and enhance… connectivity with the wider area, including the railway station, The Conge and Hall Quay’.
The redevelopment follows a £240 million public sector investment across a series of local projects, including a new £18 million university campus known as ‘The Place’, a £26 million seafront Marina Leisure Centre and a £120 million river crossing. According to the brief, ‘plans to enhance the railway station and The Conge… are [also] underway, alongside efforts to restore several sites of historic importance, including the famous Winter Gardens’. Contract is valued at £1.5 million.
Procedure Competitive dialogue: selection questionnaires followed by Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD).
Location Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
Other dates ITPD notifications, 30 July 2024. Dialogue meetings, 30 July 2024 to 6 September 2024. Tender submissions, 30 September 2024. Award of contract, November/December 2024. Contract, 2 December 2024 to 1 December 2027.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Amy Moye, East Suffolk Council, 01502 523507, amy.moye@eastsuffolk.gov.uk
Contract
FUTURE OF REGENT STREET, PICCADILLY AND HAYMARKET DISTRICT
Prior information notice published for ‘once in a lifetime’ West End public realm project
Deadline: 12 noon, 2 August 2024
Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate have announced a future opportunity for ‘ambitious, innovative and solutions-focused urban designers’ to submit proposals for a ‘transformational urban landscape experience’ in London’s West End.
The project is described as a ‘once in a generation placemaking opportunity... to achieve a landmark city-shaping scheme… which is people and nature focused and stands out on the global stage’.
The move follows a 2023 public engagement exercise with Regent Street residents, workers and visitors and the January 2024 publication of Westminster Council’s Future of Regent Street Public Realm Vision Report, which highlights nature and greening, preserving heritage and pedestrian space as priorities for respondents. In January/February, the scope of the project was extended to include Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus.
Estimated total value is £1.6 million.
Eligibility ‘Highly experienced design consortium or multidisciplinary practice with extensive proven track record in developing world class urban solutions for the public realm and seeing these through construction to completion in high profile and busy urban environments.’
Procedure Open procedure.
Location London.
Other dates The contract is expected to be published on 18 June 2024.
To find out more, see the prior information notice
Buyer contact Westminster City Council, tenders@westminster.gov.uk
Contract
HERTFORD CASTLE TRANSFORMATION
East Herts Council seeks architect for £2m reimagining of historic complex as a gateway to Hertfordshire’s county town
Deadline: 12 noon, 1 July 2024
The successful lead consultant/project manager is expected to develop the landmark as a ‘hub for activities… increasing its value to the public by connecting people with cultural and natural heritage’.
Hertford Castle Park and Gardens is a grades I and II listed Scheduled Monument that lies beside the River Lea in the centre of Hertford. Most of the internal buildings of the castle have been demolished. The Scheduled Monument status relates to the remains of a Norman earthen motte and bailey, the Tudor palace and later castle grounds, which include a 15th century gatehouse (now hired out for weddings, private parties and corporate events), 11th century curtain walls and an 18th century icehouse.
According to the spec, the castle’s ‘natural and anthropogenic heritage is in poor condition and poorly understood. Our vision is to transform Hertford Castle Park and Gardens into a safer and more welcoming gateway to the historic town of Hertford with a distinct coherent identity which recognises its cultural and natural heritage as well as its amenity value, and to ensure the future protection of this heritage by engaging visitors and local communities with their importance’.
Works will include making historic features within the grounds ‘more prominent’, a new crossing over the River Lea, replanting the gardens in a regency style, a new sensory play area, restoring the river and weir for fish and wildlife and refurbishment of a pavilion.
Funding for this, the development stage, comes from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A further application for funding the delivery stage will follow.
According to the brief, ‘the scope is split into two work packages. Work Package 1 will involve the co-ordination of specialist surveys, development of targeted plans and securing of consents. Work Package 2 will involve project management, reporting to key stakeholders and securing funding required for the next stage of the project’.
Construction works will be contracted separately. Evaluation criteria (tenders): 50 per cent quality; 40 per cent price; 10 per cent social value. The contract is valued at £250,000. Build cost, £2 million.
Eligibility Bidders must have worked on similar projects involving: listed building restoration and repair; restoration of traditional masonry; maintenance and management of historic earthworks. Project teams must include an archaeologist, conservation architect, masonry specialist, quantity surveyor, structural engineer and an ecologist.
Procedure Restricted. Standard selection questionnaires followed by invitations to tender (number of candidates not specified).
Location Hertford.
Other dates Invitations to tender, 15 July 2024. Award of contract, 16 September 2024. Contract dates, 23 September 2024 to 31 May 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Kirsten Brown, Stevenage Borough Council, 01438 242775, kirsten.brown@stevenage.gov.uk
Project competition
FINNISH MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN, HELSINKI
Open call for innovative new building design to house Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum, Helsinki
Stage 1 deadline: 29 August 2024
Finnish real estate company ADM and the City of Helsinki have launched an open international competition to find a design team for a new museum building.
The project, planned to complete in 2030, will house the city’s existing architecture and design museums, which merged earlier this year.
The new Architecture and Design Museum will occupy a vacant former dockside in a UNESCO World Heritage Site buffer zone close to Helsinki’s 18th-century Suomenlinna sea fortress. The historic waterfront is also home to the Market Square, the Orthodox and Lutheran cathedrals and Esplanade Park.
According to the brief, the main objective of the new museum will be ‘democratising the tools of design, drawing on the history and present of Finnish and Nordic architecture and design to guide a programme of public activities that will look at how design thinking and skills are relevant to the challenges we face as individuals and societies in a rapidly changing world.
‘The newly-formed collection… will contain over 900,000 artefacts, including objects, correspondence, models and photographs documenting the work of internationally famed practitioners such as Aino and Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Maija Isola, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Paavo Tynell, and design brands such as Marimekko, Nokia and Fiskars.’
Proposals for the 10,050sqm building will need to split public and back-of-house uses equally and include facilities for diverse exhibitions, historical collections, contemporary design, architecture and a wide range of media. Other requirements include spaces for events, conferences, workshops, a library and a waterfront café-restaurant.
Total budget is around €105 million with construction costs capped at €70 million.
The competition is organised in collaboration with the Finnish Association of Architects. Funding of €120 million comes from the City of Helsinki and the State of Finland with a €20 million donation from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and €30 million to be raised by private donors.
Format Two-stage contest. Stage 1, open call, after which three to five entries will be selected. Stage 2, development of concepts into viable proposals.
Stage 1 eligibility Open to individuals and design teams with a lead designer who has completed a university level master’s degree in architecture, has the right to practise as an architect in their country of residence, is a resident of a European Union country or a resident of countries that are parties to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012). Design teams can include members from countries that do not fall under the scope of the European Union and its procurement legislation.
Stage 1 requirements Maximum of 12, A3 boards showing conceptual-level proposals only, ie with emphasis on the overall concept, rather than detailed plans and sections or photorealistic visualisations.
Honoraria and prizes Each team selected for Stage 2 will receive €50,000 in two instalments: €30,000 at the beginning of Stage 2 and €20,000 on completion. Prizes of €50,000, €35,000 and €25,000 for first, second and third place, with purchase options of €20,000 for the remaining two designs.
Jury panel Mikko Aho (chair) and Juha Lemström (vice chair), both ADM; Gus Casely-Hayford, V&A East; Beatrice Galilee, The World Around; Kaarina Gould, Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design; Salla Hoppu and Anni Sinnemäki, both City of Helsinki; Riitta Kaivosoja, Ministry of Education and Culture, Department for Art and Cultural Policy; Beate Hølmebakk, Manthey Kula Architects; Matti Kuittinen, Aalto University; Mikael Silvanto, AD Museum; Sari Nieminen, Sari Nieminen; Hannu Tikka, APRT Architects.
Other dates Online information session, 24 April 2024 (see competition website link, below). Stage 2 shortlist notifications, December 2024. Stage 2, February to May 2025. Winner announced, September 2025.
To apply or find out more, go to the competition website
Project competition
REINVENTING CITIES 2024 URBAN DESIGN CONTEST
Creative multidisciplinary teams sought for climate-friendly redevelopment of 15 brownfield sites around the world
Deadline Dates vary. For UK project, expressions of interest, 2pm, 5 September 2024.
C40, a network of mayors from 100 cities, has launched the fourth edition of its global competition Reinventing Cities. The contest was set up to encourage the decarbonised urban regeneration of underused brownfield sites.
Organisers are looking for creative multidisciplinary teams - including architects, developers and community groups - to design and develop projects that will serve the needs of local communities and become sustainable city landmarks.
Fifteen cities will participate in 2024. They are Almere, Bilbao, Bologna, Brussels, Glasgow, Milan, New York, Palermo, Renca, Rome, San Antonio, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seattle and Venice.
The only site in the UK is at Applecross Wharf and Baird’s Brae in Glasgow and is part of the city’s Canal Regeneration Action Plan. According to the project brief, proposals ‘should utilise the existing heritage buildings in a vibrant way and create an activity node at this important point on the canal. The project presents an opportunity to unlock the potential of the canal to create a further vibrant neighbourhood for people to live, work and visit’.
Scottish Canals, which owns the site, says it is keen to work with interested parties to create a suitable financial development model with its contribution to be ‘via land ownership solely, with external funding coming from the project providing development capital and ultimately delivering a suitable return to Scottish Canals’.
Winning submissions across all the brownfield sites in the contest are expected to be ‘highly ambitious regarding environmental and social benefits and go beyond business as usual. To date, Reinventing Cities has engaged over 3,500 businesses worldwide with 40 projects under development globally, demonstrating how urban climate leadership and collaboration with the private sector can enable zero-carbon development to serve the needs of local communities’. The competition is supported by Ingka Group.
Procedure Two-phase procedure. Phase 1, expression of interest. Phase 2, restricted to the finalist teams.
Evaluation panel The jury will be set up by the relevant city with the support of C40.
To apply or find out more, go the competition website
For updates on the latest competitions, contests and contracts follow #ribajopportunities @RIBAJ
If you have a competition or contest you want architects to know about, email details to julie.butterworth@riba.org