The Shortlist for the competition to select a design team for a project to extend Hallé St Peter’s in Ancoats (Manchester) on behalf of the Hallé Concerts Society, has been announced by the RIBA.
The RIBA writes:
This proposed new-build extension will form the second phase of the project to transform the Grade II listed former church building into rehearsal, performance, education and ancillary spaces for the Hallé Orchestra, Choir and other ensembles.
Forty-two Expressions of Interest were received from practices of varying size across the UK and Europe. The Selection Panel consisted of the Hallé’s Chief Executive, members of its Board, together with Mike Oglesby CBE DL (Retired Chairman and CEO, Bruntwood) and Sir Jeremy Dixon (Dixon Jones) acting as the RIBA Architect Adviser.
The five short-listed teams (in alphabetical order of design firm lead) are as follows:
– Caruso St John Architects LLP
– Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
– Flanagan Lawrence
– Jamie Fobert Architects
– Stephenson Studio
In selecting the shortlist, the Panel reflected on the Hallé’s ambition for the new extension to provide a noteworthy addition to the architectural heritage of the former cotton mill area of the city; an appropriate adjunct to the existing building’s ecclesiastical architecture; help in consolidating the adjacent urban square and a refreshing rather than derivative approach to embody the ethos of the Hallé as an organisation.
On announcing the Shortlist, John Summers, Hallé Chief Executive, said: ‘We are delighted to have attracted such an outstanding shortlist of architects to work on this phase of the project and are very grateful to the Monument and Dunard Trusts for supporting the preparation work for the extension to St Peter’s, including this design competition’.
The five teams will be invited to present their design proposals to the Panel in early February 2016.
RIBA news article
