Levete, Gehry and Foster’s on six team shortlist

Amanda Levete, Foster & Partners, Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano have all been shortlisted to draw up a concept design for the planned new home of the London Symphony Orchestra.

A total of six teams have been asked to come up with ideas for the venue which is set to replace the current home of the Museum of London.

The scheme, which has an estimated price of £200-£250 million, seemed doomed last November when Theresa May’s government withdrew funding.

Former chancellor George Osborne had previously allocated £5.5 million at the end of 2015 to bankroll a detailed business plan.

But the scheme, called the Centre for Music, was handed a lifeline earlier this year when the City of London Corporation pledged up to £2.5 million to help produce the business case which is due to be completed at the end of next year.

The Centre for Music project, led by partners the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra, where conductor Simon Rattle is music director designate, and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, wants a concept design that will be sent in along with the business case next December.

City of London Corporation policy chairman Catherine McGuinness said: “For the key partners behind this project and the City of London Corporation, this important announcement brings everyone a step closer towards one of the most widely anticipated and significant developments in the Square Mile’s vibrant cultural hub.”

And shortlists have been drawn up for the building service engineer and civil and structural engineer contracts.

As well as a concert hall, the scheme will include education, training and digital spaces along with “significant supporting commercial areas”.

The Museum of London is relocating to a new site in nearby West Smithfield with that project, designed by Stanton Williams and Asif Khan, set to open in 2022.

Under the Centre for Music plans, the existing Museum of London at London Wall will be torn down.

The panel that will pick an architect winner includes Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra managing director Kathryn McDowell, Royal Opera House chief executive Alex Beard along with Eva Jiricna Architects founder Eva Jiricna, Publica director Lucy Musgrave and LSE professor of urban studies Ricky Burdett.

 

Shortlists for Centre for Music

 

Architects

AL_A and Diamond Schmitt Architects (Canada)

Diller Scofidio & Renfro (US) and Sheppard Robson

Foster & Partners

Gehry Partners (US) and Arup Associates

Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Snohetta (Norway)

 

Civil and Structural Engineer 

Aecom 

AKT 

Arup 

BuroHappold 

Ramboll 

WSP UK LTD 

 

Building Services Engineer

Aecom 

Arup 

BuroHappold 

Hoare Lea 

Max Fordham 

WSP UK LTD