Shortlist: Mersey Observatory Design Competition

The RIBA has announced that a shortlist of five designs for the Mersey Observatory in Crosby has been selected by the judging panel. The international design competition attracted an outstanding response, with 92 designs received worldwide from architects in New York, Finland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, China and Denmark, as well as the UK and Ireland.

The shortlisted practices are:

Ellis Williams Architects, Preston Brook
Duggan Morris Architects Ltd, London
Phos Architects, London
Farrell and Clark, Leeds
Studio 8 Architects, London

Competitors were set the challenge of designing an Observatory that will be loved by local people, as well as attracting people to visit Crosby and creating new jobs. The Observatory will be the first spectacular landmark seen by visiting tourists onboard cruise ships coming into the new landing facility at the Pier Head. It will be required to meet high standards of sustainability, including using renewable energy sources. It must also not impact negatively on the sites’ important nearby wildlife habitats, especially the foreshore.

Designs range from a startlingly elegant V-shaped structure with a suspended viewing pod cantilevered out over the River Mersey, to a triangular wedge shaped building extending out over the river.

The five designs are preliminary at this stage and will be refined over the coming months ahead of a public exhibition next February.

As well as architects and regeneration experts, the selection panel also included Crosby resident Ian Hamilton Fazey, representing the views of Waterloo Residents Association and the Friends of Crosby Coastal Park.

Comments from local people on the short listed designs are welcome and can be made by emailing observatory@merseybasin.org.uk. Comments will be passed on to the judging panel so they can be used when the winning design is selected in March 2008.

People will also have a chance to comment when an exhibition of the shortlisted designs goes on display in February 2008. A winner will be selected in March 2008.

Ian Hamilton Fazey, chairman of the Waterloo Residents' Association and a member of the jury for the competition, said: "This will be a signature building at the point where the Mersey becomes Liverpool Bay. It will be visible for many miles and act as a powerful statement of Liverpool's resurgence.
"As it looms ever larger when the great cruise liners sail up the Crosby Channel into the Mersey, we want something that will surprise, delight and impress people from all over the world.
"The project has wide popular support, partly because we would all like to see the back of the Mersey waterfront's very own architectural carbuncle, but also because, over the years, the Observatory will bring in millions of visitors and greatly boost our local economy, with considerable opportunities for Waterloo's restaurants, cafes, pubs, and shops."

Walter Menzies, chief executive of the Mersey Basin Campaign, said: “The River Mersey changed the world. Its regeneration is one of the great success stories of the last twenty years. In the twenty-first century its future is exciting. The story of the river yesterday, today and tomorrow must be told. The Mersey Observatory could have no more magnificent site and the short listed entries brilliantly show the potential.”

Winner announced -University of Bath Arts Centre design competition

McInnes Usher McKnight Architects (MUMA) have been chosen to design a new inter-disciplinary Arts Complex on a prominent site within the University of Bath’s Claverton Down campus. The new facility will replace existing facilities and provide for significant innovation and expansion.

MUMA were chosen following a two stage competition which initially attracted interest from over 80 practices. Only five were invited to prepare initial concept sketches and present these to a panel of judges, which included University representatives and RIBA architect adviser Sir Jeremy Dixon.

The jury panel enjoyed MUMA’s ‘round the table’ style presentation, which demonstrated how the practice had carefully considered flexibility of use, the character of the space, nice use of light, and interesting ideas for drawing in the landscape. The panel felt the practice would engage well with the University and the students.

John Struthers, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts (ICIA) said: “We were very impressed with the high calibre of the shortlisted teams, but MUMA’s proposals really captured the essence of what we were trying to achieve with this new complex. Their concept is intelligent, flexible and attractive, and we look forward to working with them on this project”.

MUMA will work with the University representatives to develop a detailed design and move the project forward.

UK Eco town design competition announced

Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper announced that an ideas competition would be run to develop and set the design standards for ten new eco-towns. She wants to engage the leading creative thinkers on architecture, urban and landscape design and transport planning on proposals for the new developments of up to 20,000 homes.

The Government's adviser on architecture and urban design CABE, with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, will assist the Government in the competition and establish a judging panel to assess the entries. The competition will focus both on the practical design ideas and the design and development process. A prize will be made available for the overall winner of the competition, as well as awards for specialist areas.

There will also be an opportunity for public involvement to judge eco-towns designs through a citizens' panel. At the end of the competition, the best of the ideas and lessons learned will be drawn together in an exhibition and eco-towns "compendium", which will help inform the thinking of local authorities and developers taking forward eco-town proposals.
Yvette Cooper said:

"We need to deliver the best eco-towns for the sake of the planet and the next generation. However, we don't want each town to be the same, but to instead reflect the history, aspirations and character of each local area. This is why it is crucial that we involve local people and citizen juries are a great way of doing just that."
The aims of the competition are to gather ideas:

• from the best national and international thinkers in the fields of town planning, urban design, architecture, landscape design, transport and environmental planning;
• on what an eco-town could and should try to achieve, and how the design and development process can support positive outcomes;
• on the key design features that should be considered when designing an eco-town, eg regional and local identity;
• on the design layout of eco-towns and how they tie in with existing transport links and the natural landscape; and
• on housing layouts and sustainability features.�

Redad the full prspectus at www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/eco-towns

Shortlist announced: Bentley Community Library Competition

The shortlist is announced for the competition to design a new community library facility in Bentley, Walsall.

Walsall Council was delighted by the response to the competition that attracted 72 Expressions of Interest from architectural practices in the UK, Europe, Sri Lanka and the United States of America. The Jury Panel, which consisted of representatives from the local community, Walsall Council and an RIBA Adviser (Chris Haddon, Haddon Few Montuschi), faced an extremely difficult task in selecting a short-list from a strong field of entrants. The Panel short-listed practices which they felt had best demonstrated their ability to produce a high quality design and engage with the local community and other stakeholders to ensure a sense of pride and ownership in the library building, which will set a precedent for future developments in Bentley.

The six short-listed practices (in alphabetical order) are as follows:
- Aaron Evans Architects
- Fashion Architecture Taste (Fat) Ltd
- Featherstone Associates
- McMorran and Gatehouse Architects Ltd
- Panter Hudspith Architects
- Sjolander da Cruz Architects

Jury Panel member Cllr. Adrian Andrew (Walsall Council cabinet member for regeneration) commented: ‘We live in very exciting times and I’m sure that we will have a new landmark building in Bentley to be proud of. We have the iconic New Art Gallery here in Walsall so we are no strangers to landmark buildings. One of the really great things about the Bentley Library project is that there is a tremendous amount of community participation. That’s important as they are the ones who will live and use the building. However, this is not just about working in partnership with the community. This is also Walsall Council working together as regeneration and libraries staff work together as well.’

Members of the public will be invited to comment on the design proposals when they are subject to anonymous public exhibition in late January 2008. Comments raised will be used to help inform the Jury Panel’s decision when the teams present their schemes at a final interview in early February 2008. The winner of the competition will initially be commissioned to develop their design proposal up to RIBA Stage D.

Charlottesville Community Design Centre: Events December

Two announcements this week from CCDC:

CCDC will screen the film, The Unforeseen, in our gallery at 101 E. Main St. on Wednesday, December 12 at 7 pm in conjunction with UVA's Human Rights Watch Film Series. The film concerns real estate and urban development issues in Austin, Texas, and the environmental and health impacts it had on a small community and their political response. The event is free and open to the public. The Unforeseen runs about 90 minutes - please plan to arrive a few minutes early, as seating will be limited.

The film, executive produced by Terrence Malick, follows the career of Gary Bradley, an ambitious west Texas farm boy who went to Austin and became one of the state's most powerful real estate developers in the boomtown growth era of the 1970s. When one of his developments threatened a local treasure, "Barton Springs," the community fought back and the subdivision became a lightning rod for environmental activism. The Unforeseen shows the negotiation between the destruction of the natural world and the American Dream in its debates over land, economics, property rights, and the public good.

2) CCDC will host a final volunteer paint day in the new office and gallery space at 100 5th St. NE on Sunday, December 16 from 11-4 pm. We've made substantial progress with our first two volunteer days and are eagerly awaiting our January move in date. This will be the last opportunity for volunteers to help with painting before we move. Please email Mandy at burbage@cvilledesign.org if you'd like to volunteer your time. Painters of all abilities are welcome.