Cooling Towers Site Competition

Result

The first stage of the competition attracted 34 entries that were assessed anonymously, with six finalists invited to present their design proposals to the jury panel at a final interview. The panel included representatives from English Partnerships, E.ON UK plc, Groundwork Sheffield, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council, together with a Landscape Adviser and an RIBA Architect Adviser. The three prize winning proposals were submitted by:

Insite Environments (first prize)
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DLA Architecture Ltd (second prize)
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Astudio Ltd in collaboration with Alfredo Caraballo (third prize)
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The three remaining finalists were Moxon Architects, Sheffield Wildlife Trust and Sprunt.

Overview

The two disused Cooling Towers are a highly emotive issue with the general public. The challenging site requires an innovative approach for its redevelopment.

Category Idea Competition / Open to Students / Competition Result
Type International Architecture Idea Competition
Genre Conservation, Redevelopment
Country UK
RegDeadline 30 May 2007 GoogleCal iCal
06 June 2007
Eligibility Architects, landscape architects, engineers, town planners, urban designers and students.

Description
The competition site occupies a key gateway location, just off the M1 motorway opposite the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. The area has been the focus of significant public interest, due to the selection of the two disused Cooling Towers located on the site for the Channel 4 Big Art programme. The Cooling Towers are a highly emotive issue with the general public, who 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. Notwithstanding the Channel 4 programme 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. 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.

Organization
Groundwork Sheffield

Jury
The general public and interested parties with specialist or local knowledge

Competition Type
Three-stage:
The Stage 1 submissions will be subject to a technical appraisal and up to twenty schemes will be selected for anonymous exhibition. Anonymity will be lifted at Stage 2 and the finalists invited to present their design ideas to the Jury Panel at a final interview.

Prize
Prize money of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 will be awarded to the competitors placed First, Second and Third respectively.
The remaining finalists will each be paid a contribution of £250 towards expenses incurred in attending the final interview in Sheffield.

Entry Fee
£35

Entries
A1 design boards (Up to two) and CD-ROM (PDF format)

Timetable
A final interview (in Sheffield): 19 July 2007

Official Website
http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/Also/Competitions_3898.html