Cooling Towers Design Competition

Results

The first stage of the competition attracted 34 entries that were assessed anonymously. Six finalists presented their design proposals to the jury panel.

1st Prize

Insite Environments

2nd Prize

DLA Architecture Ltd

3rd Prize

Astudio Ltd in collaboration with Alfredo Caraballo

3 Other Finalists

Moxon Architects

Sheffield Wildlife Trust

Sprunt

____________

Announcement

SPONSOR:

Groundwork Sheffield

TYPE:

Open, international, anonymous, 2-stage, ideas

LOCATION:

Tinsley, Sheffield

TIMETABLE:

30 May 2007 – Registration Deadline

06 Jun 2007 – Stage 1 Submission Deadline (14:00 hrs)

19 Jul 2007 – Stage 2 Finalists Interview with Jury

JURY:

to include a Landscape Adviser; Architect Adviser and representatives from E.on UK (the principal landowner); Groundwork Sheffield; English Partnerships; Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan District Council

ELIGIBILITY:

architects, landscape architects, engineers, town planners and urban designers (or teams thereof)

AWARDS:

1st Prize – £4,000

2nd Prize – £2,000

3rd Prize – £1,000

The remaining finalists will each be paid a contribution of £250 towards expenses incurred in attending the final interview.

FEE:

£35.00

THE COMPETITION:

Participants are invited to submit imaginative, inspirational ideas for the future use of a brownfield site situated adjacent to the M1 Tinsley Viaduct in Sheffield. The competition site occupies a key gateway location, lying just off the M1 motorway opposite the Meadowhall Shopping Centre (which attracts some 13 million shoppers per year). The area has been the focus of significant public interest over the past year, due to the selection of the two disused Cooling Towers located on the site for the Channel 4 Big Art program. The Cooling Towers are a highly emotive issue with the general public. People either loathe the Towers considering them an eyesore, or love them, regarding them as a local landmark that welcomes residents and visitors alike to Sheffield. What would it be like to drive along the M1 without the Towers looming over the viaduct is a frequently asked question? Notwithstanding the Channel 4 program and local campaigners’ determination to transform the Towers into a public artwork, demolition remains the preferred option of the landowner due to the on-going maintenance liability that they represent. Competitors can choose to either incorporate or exclude the Cooling Towers from their design ideas. Despite its industrial setting, the site is significant as the River Don and Tinsley Canal which cross the site are an important recreational resource and wildlife corridor that links to the adjacent Blackburn Meadows Nature Reserve. The challenging site requires an innovative approach for its redevelopment, which if implemented, would be visible by the thousands of motorists who use the two-tier Tinsley Viaduct every day.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Cooling Towers Site Competition

RIBA Competitions

6 Melbourne Street

Leeds LS2 7PS

UK

Tel: +44(0)113-234-1335

Fax: +44(0)113-246-0744

riba.competitions@inst.riba.org

http://www.architecture.com/competitions

http://www.groundwork-sheffield.org.uk