King’s Cross Square is destined to be one of the great public places in London. Against the magnificent backdrop of the Grade 1 listed façade of King’s Cross designed by Thomas Cubitt, this new urban square will be the setting through which in excess of a hundred thousand commuters, visitors and residents will pass each day.An international, two-stage design competition to design the square is announced. This major design event is jointly led by the London Borough of Camden, and land-owner and national railway agency Network Rail, with additional sponsorship from Design for London, Transport for London and the London Borough of Islington. English Heritage are, of course, taking a keen interest in the space as part of the setting of two Grade I listed stations.
The preliminary first stage seeks Expressions of Interest from architects, landscape architects and urban designers. From these responses a shortlist of six will be chosen to work up concept propositions, with the final decision made by a jury. It is Network Rail’s intention to appoint the winner to complete the design of the space, preferably in time for an opening before 2012, following completion of the transformation of the Grade 1 listed King’s Cross station, which is currently under construction.
King’s Cross Square will be unique in terms of position, multiple functions, and urban place-making potential. A world-class exemplar design is sought. The square will be one of London’s most high-profile public realm projects at the start of the 21st century, and as significant to this part of London as Trafalgar Square or Marble Arch are to their West End settings. In the event that King’s Cross Square can be completed by the spring of 2012, it will form the gateway of London’s most important international rail portal for the London Olympic Games.
The two-stage competition’s total design and construction budget is based on a 6 million Pounds (approximately 7,8 million Euros, 11,9 million Dollars) budget at 2008 prices, inflation protected to date of construction.
To create a new public plaza immediately south of King’s Cross station, approximately 7000m2 in area. The site is bounded by the Grade 1 listed King’s Cross station to the north, by Euston Road and York Way to the south and east, and by Pancras Road and the Grade I listed St Pancras International station to the west.
The competition process is being managed by Malcolm Reading Consultants, in association with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Competitions Office and Network Rail’s lead architects for the King’s Cross station redevelopment programme, John McAslan + Partners. The competition is being conducted in accordance with European
Procurement requirements and an advert has been placed on the Official Journal of the European Union.
Participation and Competition Process
Competing design teams, or individual designers, must respond to the Stage 1 Expression of Interest briefing document, and complete the pre-qualification questionnaire. The shortlist of up to six designers will be selected from Stage 1 applicants, and the shortlisted designers will be invited to develop concept propositions in response to a more detailed Stage 2 brief. A full site visit will be arranged for those invited to compete at Stage 2, including access to the client team and their technical consultants. An RIBA representative will attend and observe Stage 1 and Stage 2 selection processes. The membership of the jury will be announced at a later date.
Eligibility
The competition is open to architectural practices, landscape practices, multi-disciplinary design teams, and individual designers. In the event that a practice or established design team wins the competition, they would be expected to assemble a complete project delivery team. In the event of an individual designer winning the King’s Cross Square competition, that designer would be expected to work with a team of supporting professional consultants whose selection would be approved by the RIBA, and by John McAslan + Partners, Network Rail’s lead architects for the King’s Cross
station redevelopment programme.
Submission
Shortlisted candidates will be required to provide a simple cost analysis as part of their eventual concept design. It should be noted that this will be an obligatory part of each submission. Only candidates who respond in accordance with the submission requirements will be considered. During the pre-qualification stage Network Rail personnel, its consultants, and jury members should not be contacted, as this may lead to disqualification from the competition.
If you have any questions relating to this document please contact Malcolm Reading Consultants by email at: [email protected]
Overseas competitors should note that, for Customs purposes, no commercial value should be assigned to any postal or courier documentation for the Expression of Interest. This may cause your submission to be delayed, or returned to you unopened. Please provide four bound copies of your response to the core information section, and a PDF version on CD-ROM disc; this element must be in A4 format, and not exceed 20 pages. In addition, please provide separately two bound copies of the questionnaire. Submissions will not be returned to originators.
The submissions must be marked "Expression of Interest" and sent or delivered to the following address: King’s Cross Square Competition Malcolm Reading Consultants 45 - 46 Berners Street London W1T 3NE.
Competition Schedule
05 June - 01 August 2008: Pre-qualification Period
01 August 2008, 12:00: Submission Deadline
02 August - 04 September 2008: Evaluate Questionnaires
05 September 2008: Invite Shortlist to Tender
05 September - 31 October 2008: Competition Stage
19 September 2008: Competitor Open Day
03 October 2008: Mid Stage Interviews
01 November - 12 December 2008: Evaluate Submissions
15 - 19 December 2008: Negotiate and Appoint