Win a place on the £37 billion new hospitals framework, create a biodiverse campus, propose a Square Mile wayfinding trail of architectural interventions - some of the latest architecture contracts and competitions from across the industry
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Contract
NEW HOSPITAL PROGRAMME CONSTRUCTION FRAMEWORK
NHSE launches £37bn, 12-year agreement for ‘one of the biggest hospital building programmes in a generation’
Deadline: 12 noon, 19 March 2025
NHS England has begun the formal procurement process for its New Hospital Programme (NHP) with the launch of the Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A) Framework.
The multi-supplier agreement is for major capital works for hospital build, refurbishment and ancillary work, including the detailed design, construction, commissioning and handover of major NHP schemes.
According to the notice, the NHP is ‘an enduring programme intended to develop capacity, value for money, efficiency and skills over many years through collaboration, standardisation and cooperation’.
The H2A agreement will be used by trusts across the country to appoint ‘alliance partners’ who will work on the delivery of individual new hospital schemes between 2025 and 2040.
Sixteen Wave 1 and Wave 0 schemes will start construction between 2025 and 2030. Wave 0 are already proceeding due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Wave 2 will follow in 2030 to 2035; Wave 3 in 2035 to 2039.
Expressions of interest are expected from suppliers with major project experience and the capacity and capability to deliver complex hospital build and refurbishment construction work. Up to 11 places will be awarded.
Call-offs will be awarded by collaborative allocation, mini competition or direct award.
A separate agreement for NHSE estates and facilities works outside the NHP - the P24 framework - is expected to be launched by NHSE and Crown Commercial Services towards the end of this year.
Note that access to the H2A Framework procurement documents is restricted and requires a signed non-disclosure agreement.
Estimated total value of the 12-year framework is £37 billion.
Procedure Competitive dialogue: selection questionnaires followed by invitations to tender.
Location England.
Other dates Supplier shortlist, early May 2025. Tender process runs until autumn 2025. Places awarded end of 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact NHS England/NHP Procurement, nhp.tenders@nhs.net
Contract
UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD PUBLIC REALM
Landscape architect sought for realisation of ‘ecologically rich campus in the park’
Deadline: 12 noon, 19 March 2025
The procurement of a landscape architect designer is the latest phase of the north west England university’s £3.75 million, five-year Campus Connectivity Plan.
The University of Salford, one mile west of Manchester city centre, began life as The Royal Technical Institute, Salford in 1896. Today it has three campuses: the main one at Peel Park, plus Frederick Road and the 2010 addition, MediaCity. The four main green infrastructure sites are Peel Park itself, the Innovation Plaza, University Green, Ignition Square and Museum Garden.
According to the brief, ‘this initiative seeks to transform the spaces between buildings into vibrant public realms, enhancing pedestrian and cycle connectivity, integrating sustainable greening efforts and improving accessibility and service routes’.
The 12-month contract will cover RIBA stages 1 and 2 and deliverables include: an overall concept design; district-specific designs; landscaping strategies; a development plan that aligns with other university initiatives; specification; and a baseline ecological survey drawn up in collaboration with other stakeholders.
The aim is to ‘maximise biodiversity, habitat creation and linkages both within and external to our campus through more natural, informal areas and gardens rather than rigid paths, more trees and wildflowers and opportunities for growing including edibles’.
Evaluation criteria are 70 per cent quality and 30 per cent price. Value of contract is £150,000.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Salford, Manchester.
Other dates Tender award, 16 April 2025. Contract, 16 April 2025 to 16 April 2026.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact O.H.Ward@salford.ac.uk
Project competition
Open call for creatives to submit ‘playful and engaging’ proposals for a trail of architectural interventions across the City of London
Deadline 12 noon, 6 March 2025
This London Festival of Architecture (LFA) competition, in collaboration with Eastern City Bid and the City of London, focuses on four ‘public viewing galleries’ or platforms located in the eastern part of the Square Mile: The Garden at 120 (Fen Court and Billiter Street), Horizon 22 (22 Bishopsgate), The Lookout (6-8 Bishopsgate), and Sky Garden (20 Fenchurch Street).
Organisers are looking for ideas that will improve access and connectivity to and between the sites and, at street level, provide public seating and creative signposting to some lesser-known points of interest. The winner is expected to deliver the project in June 2025 as part of this year’s LFA.
According to the brief, ‘the Eastern City is home to some of London’s most iconic buildings and vibrant public spaces, yet the area’s high-rise architecture presents challenges in navigating its streets and public realm. ‘City Views’ is an opportunity to reshape how residents, workers and visitors experience this unique urban environment’.
‘All [proposed] design elements should be read as a family of objects and act as a trail. We are looking for pieces that function as a wayfinding tool and are realistic to the brief (do not become pavilions or follies). They must be safe, robust, durable and offer a low maintenance design solution. Circular economy principles are strongly encouraged in the design. Consideration should be paid to materials used and whole life sustainability of the design. Some greening is desirable, but maintenance should be considered’.
Budget £87,000+ VAT, which includes a £10,000 design fee.
Eligibility Open to architects, landscape architects, designers and artists. All project teams must include a qualified architect or landscape architect. The judges encourage entries from teams who are underrepresented in these professions and invite larger architecture or design practices to team up with smaller studios or other creatives.
Procedure Single-stage contest. Initial ideas and examples of similar projects are required for this submission, not fully developed designs. The winner will work with the clients and key local stakeholders to develop a more detailed design once appointed.
Requirements Ten-page PDF including: biographies of project team with head shots; description of practice and technical expertise; relevant previous work with images; 400 words on why you want to enter, how you will deliver the project if chosen and reactions to the brief; one concept sketch to illustrate initial vision.
Judging criteria The panel will evaluate submissions on creativity, feasibility and alignment with the competition’s aims of improving access, connectivity and public realm experience. Evaluation criteria: practice/team profile, 30 per cent; initial vision, 30 per cent; feasibility, 20 per cent; approach to environment and sustainability, 20 per cent.
Judging panel Includes Will Dyson, placemaking director, Eastern City BID; Maria Herrera, senior project manager, City of London; Era Savvides, partner, Urban Radicals; Ellie Stathaki, architecture and environment director, Wallpaper*; Rosa Rogina, director, LFA (chair).
Other deadlines and dates Online drop-in session, 1pm on 14 February 2025 - register here. Winner notified, week of 17 March 2025.
To find out more, go to the competition website
To submit your entry, go to zealous.co/lfa/city-views
Competition contact info@londonfestivalofarchitecture.org
Contract
Architect sought for Severn Campus inclusive cricket and education centre
Deadline: 5.30pm, 27 February 2025
The university, which dates back to 1946 and was awarded university status in 2005, is looking to appoint an architect to work on the expansion of its Severn Campus on Hylton Road in central Worcester. The campus links its City Campus on the east side of the River Severn with its St John's Campus to the west.
The university and its project partner The England and Wales Cricket Board originally obtained planning permission for a new-build centre in 2021. Following a review, amendments to the layout were approved, including a reduction in scale of the building (though the total development area and the site of the revised scheme remains the same). This contract requires a new planning application to be submitted.
The appointed consultancy is expected to develop concept plans, obtain planning permission, prepare documents for the appointment of a contractor, develop the design until completion (under a novation agreement) and monitor building performance under playing conditions post-completion.
According to the ITT, with this project the university aims to ‘expand the work it carries out in disability sports and… provide opportunities for players of all abilities… expand the number of females participating in the game and look to become the home of disability cricket in the UK (blind cricket, deaf cricket, learning disability cricket and, physical disability cricket.
‘The new facility will complement the three important university centres already completed at Severn Campus – the University Arena, The Riverside Building, The Duke’s Building, Elizabeth Casson Building (paramedicine) and the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building (three counties medical school)’.
Any proposed designs must provide an indoor four net space with additional two net space for blind cricket, motion capture work and/or biomechanical labs, include changing facilities, multiple storage spaces, offices and ancillary accommodation, plus a teaching area. The building needs to be highly sustainable (EPC A) and fully inclusive, from grassroots to elite athletes.
Evaluation criteria are 50 per cent quality and 50 per cent price.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Worcester.
Other dates Interviews (maximum two candidates), week of 3 March 2025. Notification of award, 12 March 2025. Contract start, 23 March 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Nicola Brecknell, 01905 542066, n.brecknell@worc.ac.uk
Contract
MARITIME MILE, IRVINE, SCOTLAND
Design consultancy sought for North Ayrshire harbourside public realm works
Deadline: 12 noon, 4 March 2025
North Ayrshire Council is encouraging lead designers of multidisciplinary teams to bid for a 15-month contract to design and deliver public realm improvements to the Maritime Mile along Irvine Harbourside on the Firth of Clyde.
Irvine is a large town eight miles west of Kilmarnock on Scotland’s west coast. It was once a medieval burgh, the site of Scotland's 12th century military capital and the former headquarters of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, Hugh de Morville.
The Maritime Mile project is informed by a £14 million Great Harbour Masterplan, which aims to promote the area as a tourism destination for Irvine and the wider Ayrshire coast.
The public realm improvements will provide connectivity between three new ‘activity hubs’ celebrating the town’s maritime heritage, arts and events, and coastal attractions. They will also link the harbourside with Irvine railway station and the Scottish Maritime Museum at the Linthouse Building.
According to the brief, the Ayrshire Growth Deal-funded works ‘will cover RIBA stages 2 to 4 from Outline Concept onwards and also includes roles of a principal designer and contract administrator for construction works’.
Minimum required services are: landscape architecture; urban design; civil, geotechnical and marine engineering; ecology; transport planning; active travel; public engagement; signage and graphic design.
Bidders are required to provide two examples (with customer references) of projects valued between £5 million to £7 million worked on in the past three years. They need to be similar in size and scope to the Maritime Mile works.
Award criteria are 60 per cent price; 40 per cent quality. Estimated value of the contract is £250,000. Budget for the capital works is £6 million.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Irvine, North Ayrshire.
Other dates Notification of award, 17 May 2025. Contract, 30 May 2025 to 30 August 2026.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Laura Keane, laurakeane@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Project competition
Deadline: Midnight, 14 March 2025
Arts and architecture charity Antepavilion has launched the latest edition of its annual contest calling on ‘emerging architects, artists, designers, craftsmen and anyone else’ to design a temporary platform, podium or plinth installation for a site at Hoxton Docks in east London.
The Hackney-based charity was established in 2017 and aims to promote independent thought and symbiosis in the fields of art, craft and architecture.
Since 2016, the Hoxton Docks rooftops site on the Regents Canal in Haggerston has been the charity’s signature display space. It was first occupied by Matthew Butcher‘s Flood House - a projected future dwelling and laboratory to monitor weather conditions of the Thames Estuary.
Other past winning entries include the flatpack Potemkin Theatre by Maich Swift Architects; a collapsible structure called All Along the Watchtower by Project Bunny Rabbit; and Antechamber, a mobile camera obscura by Studio Nima Sardar.
‘As usual,’ states this year’s spec, ‘the… brief is open to broad interpretation’, though entrants are encouraged to consider the site and previous winners and also to be familiar with the charity’s back story and ‘fight for survival against attack by Hackney Council’ following a series of planning enforcements and legal actions. The charity won in 2024.
As always with the contest, re-use of materials is encouraged. Available materials this year include structural steel, timber and reclaimed Red Louro lath cladding ‘removed from blocks of flats that were recognised to be a fire risk only when Grenfell happened’. Some of the materials will be presented to entrants at the open days (see below).
The winner will have facilities and lifting equipment available on site for any construction work required for the installation.
Eligibility Open to all; no qualifications required. While organisers make some specialist skills available (metalworking and structural engineering), entrants must be able to make and install their work themselves.
Procedure Application is via an online entry form. Potential entrants can view the site on 15 February 2025 or 2 March 2025 after registering. All entries will be considered by a jury panel who will draw up a shortlist of three to five to further develop their proposals for a final presentation and winner’s announcement.
Honorarium £500 for each shortlisted entry.
Prize/budget Winner will receive up to £25,000 to cover construction cost and prize money - prize must not to exceed 40 per cent of the total budget.
Submission requirements Proposal title, team or individual name and two (anonymised) A3 boards showing the proposed work formatted as a PDF document.
Jury panel A cross-disciplinary jury is to be announced. It will include present and former resident Antepavilion artists and makers of previous installations.
Other dates Shortlist, 24 March 2025. Presentations, 10 April 2025. Winner notified, 11 April 2025. Installation, June or July 2025 (maximum six weeks). Opening event, 1 August 2025.
To register interest, go to antepavilion.org/register
To find out more, go to the competition website
Competition contact admin@antepavilion.org
Contract
RUSSELL-COTES ART GALLERY & MUSEUM, BOURNEMOUTH
Design lead sought for conservation work on Dorset’s art nouveau cliffside landmark
Deadline: 2pm, 28 February 2025
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council is recruiting a conservation specialist to work on the grade II* listed Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum.
The ‘exuberant late-Victorian sea-front villa’ and additions are located on Bournemouth’s East Cliff and hold a collection of 40,000 pieces of Victorian fine and decorative art and world cultures.
Formerly known as East Cliff Hall, the villa was built in the late 19th century by local architect John Fogarty as a residence for Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes and a home for their extensive art collection. In 1908 they presented the house as a gallery to Bournemouth and it has been administered by the Borough Council and its successors since.
The building was constructed in three distinct phases: the villa of 1894, the HE Hawker-designed Eastern galleries of 1918 to 19 and a 1991 Western extension.
According to the specification, ‘the building has had little investment in its fabric or services since 1999. A condition survey carried out in 2020 by a conservation accredited architect and surveyor identified £4 million of work required over five years, including £2 million of vital work needed within 18 months’.
Architects, chartered surveyors and chartered architectural technologists are encouraged to bid for the three-year RIBA stage 4 to 6 contract. The successful bidder will lead a team of specialist consultants on a programme of works to refurbish the historic conservatory; replace all mechanical and electrical plant; improvement drainage; and improve security on the roof.
The contract is subject to funding - a high priority works application was submitted to Arts Council England in August 2024.
Evaluation criteria are 60 per cent quality; 40 per cent price. Value of the contract is £350,000 to £359,000. Budget for the works is £1.6 million, including contingencies but excluding professional fees. Site visits can be arranged via the email address below.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Bournemouth, Dorset.
Other dates Notification of outcome, April 2025. Contract, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028. Completion of works, March 2028.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Strategic Procurement Team, BCP Council, 01202 128989, procurement@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
Ideas competition
WILLIAM SUTTON PRIZE, SIXTH EDITION
£125k contest calls for ‘innovators and disruptors’ to submit groundbreaking solutions that transform the lives of social housing residents
Deadline: 12 noon, 8 April 2025
Clarion Housing Group’s latest iteration of its annual competition has boosted its total prize pot to mark the organisation’s 125th anniversary. The £125,000 fund will be split between the winners of two categories themed around sustainability and connected communities.
The Sustainability: Regenerative Places prize will be awarded to organisations or individuals with ideas that contribute to the restoration and preservation of the natural world. Of particular interest are: regenerative and climate resilient design; retrofitting and renewable energy; resource efficiency and carbon reduction; biodiversity and recovering nature; and wellbeing and placemaking.
The Connected Communities prize (in partnership with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art) aims to foster innovative solutions that enhance community ties, promote inclusion and strengthen the social fabric of Clarion neighbourhoods. Key focus areas are: innovative technology solutions; intergenerational interventions; social inclusion; and community spaces.
The William Sutton Prize is named after the Victorian philanthropist whose legacy created Clarion Housing Group. Past winners include: Building with Nature and The Green Partnership; Bell Phillips Architects; Mole Architects, Pride of Place Living; Hackney School of Food; and Ecomotive and SNUG Homes.
Prizes Sustainability: Regenerative Places’ total prize pot is £75,000, which can support up to five projects with bids between £5,000 and £50,000; the Connected Communities’ total prize pot is £50,000 for up to five projects with £5,000 to £25,000 bids. All winners also receive a 12 to 18 month tailored package of business support and the chance to collaborate with Clarion and their partners and sector-leading experts to turn their boldest and brightest ideas into reality.
Eligibility Applications can be accepted from individuals, not-for-profit and commercial organisations. Individuals must be over 18 years old and residing in the UK and organisations must be registered to work in England. Successful projects should take place in England. According to the Guidance, for both categories the organisers are ‘particularly interested in hearing from architects, designers, planners, social and tech entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists, academics, construction contractors and social enterprises or CICs. Previous experience in the social housing sector isn’t essential’. Charitable organisations and community groups are also encouraged to enter the Connected Communities prize.
Procedure Entrants will be whittled down to a shortlist and then a list of finalists who will pitch to the juries ahead of a winners’ announcement at the awards ceremony in London.
Submission requirements Online application form and six images or documents. ‘We will not require a detailed budget or business plan; however, the judges will need to understand the estimated costs to demonstrate how the prize money will be used for the development or enhancement of your idea. Entries will be judged on the quality and potential of the idea, not a detailed business plan.’ See the online Guidance for full details.
Judging panels: Sustainability: Regenerative Places: Jock Lennox (chair), Clarion Housing Group; Bukky Bird, Barratt Developments; Greg Fitzgerald, Vistry Group; Tara Gbolade, Gbolade Design Studio; Peter Murray, New London Architecture; Miles Lewis and Nick Wood, Clarion Housing Group. Connected Communities: David Orr (chair), Clarion Housing Association; Andrew van Doorn OBE, HACT; Chris McGinley, Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, the Royal College of Art; Matt Harvey-Agyemang, The POoR Collective; Michelle Reynolds, Phil Miles and David Hunter, Clarion Housing Group.
Other dates and deadlines Applicant webinar, 19 February 2025 (email the address below). Shortlist, June 2025. Finalist announcements, July 2025. Pitches to judges, 10 July 2025. Awards ceremony, September 2025. Collaborations with Clarion, from October 2025.
For registration and online application forms, visit clarionfutures.flexigrant.com
To find out more, go to the competition website
Competition contact williamsuttonprize@clarionhg.com
Contract
GUILDHALL SCHOOL OF MUSIC & DRAMA, LONDON
City of London Corporation is recruiting a lead consultant to refurbish the Barbican-based campus
Deadline: 12 noon, 19 February 2025
Successful bidders will become part of a design team tasked with delivering a five-year programme of combined minor improvements and cyclical works to refurbish the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (GSMD).
The GSMD - the first municipal music college in the UK - was founded in 1880 when it occupied a disused City warehouse. The school moved to its current premises in and around the Barbican in 1977 and has over 1,000 students.
The campus has four sites: Silk Street (primary education across seven floors with three below ground); Milton Court (concert spaces as part of two basement levels and five storeys as part of Heron Tower); Sundial Court (halls of residence); and John Hosier Annexe (single semi-basement educational and rehearsal annexe).
Lead consultant services (Lot 1) will cover project management, architectural services, interior design, furniture, fixtures and equipment, building surveying, cost consultancy/quantity surveying and principal designer (building control).
The tender also covers mechanical, electrical and plumbing services (Lot 2). Annual contract value for Lot 1 is £120,000 (£600,000 in total); Lot 2 is £70,000 (£350,000 in total). Bidders are permitted to bid for, and can be awarded, both lots.
According to the brief, ‘The City of London’s budget for the project including fees is £12.5 million. For clarity, this figure is the absolute maximum and full amount approved by committee to deliver five years’ worth of cyclical expenditure to the GSMD fully inclusive of any fees, services and works’.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location City of London.
Other dates Contract, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact Arta Nuhija, 0207 606 3030, arta.nuhija@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Contract
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FRAMEWORK 2024-28, SCOTLAND
£25m five-lot agreement covers net zero and decarbonisation works across Highlands and Islands
Deadline: Now 5pm, 21 February 2025
The Highland Council is looking for suppliers for a four-year Energy Efficiency Framework.
According to the brief, the council is seeking 'a transformational change to the delivery of energy efficiency and renewable works… to both domestic and non-domestic properties’.
Contracts are divided into lots. Lot 1 covers Consultancy and Advice and has sub-lots requiring an energy efficiency assessor, retrofit coordinator, retrofit assessor, consultancy, structural engineer and clerk of works.
‘The works to be included under sublot 1.4: Consultancy include, but are not limited to, the provision of technical and techno-economic management and advisory services from feasibility studies through design development, procurement, construction, commissioning and operation’.
Lots 2 to 4 are: Building Fabric Improvements; Heating and Ventilation; Renewables and Ancillary Systems; and Building Controls. Tenders can be submitted for one or more lots.
‘Works and services will be primarily for council owned properties,’ continues the brief, ‘however there will be opportunities to include domestic properties across the various tenures as projects are aligned with external funding opportunities. There may also be an opportunity for Highland public sector organisations to call off the proposed framework where the Council is delivering place based/area projects.’
The regions covered by the agreement are Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Skye & Lochalsh, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey, and Lochaber.
Contracts are for two years, with the council having the option to extend for a further two, 12-month periods. Expected number of participants across the framework is 40.
Call-offs for works under £50,000 will be via direct award and by mini competition for those over £50,000. Evaluation criteria for all lots is 100 per cent quality.
Procedure Open procedure.
Location Highlands & Islands, Scotland.
Other dates Contract awards, 31 March 2025. Commencement, 1 April 2025.
To apply or find out more, see the contract notice
Buyer contact C&PSS, 01349 886603, CPSSprocurement@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Public information notice
CONSTRUCTION AND OFFSITE SOLUTIONS FRAMEWORK
CCS launches early market engagement for £80bn agreement
Deadline: Approach to market, 21 January 2026
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has published a prior information notice for a seven-year, pan-government construction framework.
The agreement, which is valued at £80 billion, launches in 2026 and will allow buyers with building asset or infrastructure projects to access suppliers in the traditional and modern methods of construction sectors, including those providing architectural, engineering and inspection services.
Users of the framework will include central government departments (Health, Education, Culture, Media and Sport, Local Communities and Housing, Defence and Security, Government Policy and Infrastructure), public bodies, those working on their behalf and all public sector organisations across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and overseas.
According to the notice, the CCS will ‘continue partnering with NHS England to deliver the fifth generation of the Procure Framework (P24) for the provision of design and construction solutions for NHS capital projects’.
UK and international suppliers are invited to participate in an early market engagement from January 2025, after which the lotting structure around value, location and sector will be published.
Procedure To be announced.
Location UK-wide and overseas.
Other dates Expressions of interest via email to construction@crowncommercial.gov.uk by 12 noon, 13 December 2024. Framework active, 31 October 2026 to 30 October 2034.
To apply or find out more, see the prior information notice
Buyer contact 0345 410 2222, supplier@crowncommercial.gov.uk
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If you have a competition or contest you want architects to know about, email details to julie.butterworth@riba.org