The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Competitions has announced a shortlist of 5 teams in the competition for the Upper Orwell Crossings Project in Ipswich, England. The project brief consists of 3 new bridges spanning the Upper Orwell River that will enable the redevelopment and regeneration of several districts of Ipswich, as well as relieve congestion and improve connectivity for multiple forms of transportation.
The three bridges include:
Crossing A
A new road crossing to the south of the Wet Dock Island, which would connect the east and west banks. This crossing would be for all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
Crossing B
A new road crossing of the New Cut, which would connect the west bank to the Wet Dock Island. This crossing would be for all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
Crossing C
An improved crossing over the Prince Philip Lock, which would connect the east bank to the Wet Dock Island. This crossing would be for cyclists and pedestrians only.
After a pre-qualification phase that attracted a range of submissions from firms of varying sizes, the evaluation panel selected the following shortlisted teams:
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Adamson Associates (Toronto) with William Matthews Associates and Ney & Partners
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Foster + Partners (London)
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Knight Architects (High Wycombe)
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Marc Mimram (Paris)
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Wilkinson Eyre (London) with FHECOR and EADON Consulting
The finalists were selected based on “experience of collaborating on major infrastructure projects, working within a multi-disciplinary team environment, and designing projects of architectural distinction with a complexity, scale and/or budget similar to that required on the Upper Orwell Crossings scheme.”
The five teams will present their designs to the Judging Panel (Chaired by Sir Michael Hopkins CBE) in mid-December 2016, with a winner to be announced in early 2017. The winning team will work with an existing project team led by WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, who will provide structural and civil engineering consulting for the project.
News via RIBA Competitions and Suffolk County Council.
