New Street: Back to the drawing board

Jan 7 2008 By Paul Dale, Birmingham Post

Drawings showing how Birmingham's revamped New Street Station might look are to be abandoned in favour of a re-design, as planners seek to give the £550 million project iconic status.

Network Rail and the city council-led partnership behind the Gateway project will announce an international competition today, with a £40 million contract for the architect submitting the best ideas for the station facade and atrium above new passenger concourses.

The move comes more than a year after council regeneration director Clive Dutton sharply criticised Network Rail's design for the new station, saying that it lacked the "wow factor".

Mr Dutton urged a re-think before the scheme was submitted to the city planning committee at the end of 2006, adding that Birmingham deserved a world class station.

But his remarks were dismissed at the time by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jerry Blackett, who described the design as "perfectly good".

The drawings as submitted were given outline approval, although planning committee chairman David Roy warned aspects of what was being proposed were "a little lacking in quality and design".

The Gateway partnership has appointed the Royal Institute of British Architects to launch and manage the selection process for a concept designer to develop an "overarching building vision" for the project.

An announcement inviting tenders in the Office Journal of the European Union says: "The concept design will act as the catalyst for the transformation of the station, such that it is seen as more than just a functional facility but becomes an integral part of the city and reflects the dynamic aspirations of modern day Birmingham.

"The concept designer will also be responsible for the building's integration with the surrounding area, as well as informing the brief for new public spaces.

"It is important that the station achieves the very highest quality of design, so that a dynamic sense of place is created."

A shortlist of six architects will be announced next month, with each company chosen to participate receiving a £10,000 payment.

Selection will take the form of a competitive process with each applicant being invited to produce an architectural model in response to the site context and then attend an interview to outline their vision to a jury panel.

Martin Chambers, Network Rail's programme 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."

Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby, chairman of the Gateway Steering Group, 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 New Street will act as a beacon of good design at the heart of our regenerated city centre."

The Gateway partnership remains confident that Government approval for the £220 million final tranche of funding for the New Street scheme will be announced shortly.

The Department for Transport, which has already committed £128 million towards the new station, has spent three months considering the business case.

The project aims to transform the 1960s station by doubling passenger capacity, improving the platforms and providing airport-style waiting areas and escalators either side of a shopping mall.

Two high-rise office and apartment blocks will stand either side of a new station entrance in Stephenson Street.

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