Bradford City of Culture shortlists top talent for events space contest

The finalists are APPARATA Architects with Arinjoy Sen and Structure Workshop; IF_DO with Street Space Community CIC and Simple Works TLD; GWP Architecture + FAUM Architecture with EMPACE and Bradford Moor Pass; New Practice with Common Wealth and Reeves & Bondand; and Carter Gregson Gray (an evolution of evolution of Jack Carter Architects) with Structure Workshop, Studio 4215 and Studio Three Sixty.

The RIBA-organised international competition seeks proposals for an ‘iconic travelling performance space’ to host performances, installations and live events during Bradford’s stint as UK City of Culture in 2025.

The Beacon project sets out to ‘celebrate Bradford’s cultural heritage and to reflect its diverse, cosmopolitan communities’. The winning concept will be expected to feature ‘sustainability at its heart’ while also promoting ‘meaningful interchange between communities’.

RIBA architect adviser for the competition, Tumpa Husna Yasmin Fellows, co-founder and director of Our Building Design, said: ‘This open call, inviting expressions of interest for Beacon competition, has attracted responses from teams that formed interesting collaborations and proposed diverse methods and approaches for the design of Beacon.

‘We are looking forward to the design phase, working with the teams to unpack the stories that connect with and celebrate Bradford’s cultural heritage and cosmopolitan communities. This design opportunity intends to increase awareness in the local heritage and the global connections with Bradford, by facilitating the access to the arts through the lens of decolonial or an expanded architecture and design practice, addressing spatial justice and climate crisis.’

Bradford 2025 executive director Dan Bates said: ‘Bradford’s ambitions for UK City of Culture have always included the desire to increase and expand the world’s view of Bradford, dialling up how we’re seen. It’s been brilliant to see that through the design submission process we’ve attracted so much international interest.

‘The focus on sustainability and inclusivity has been central to all the responses, and I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome of the design phase of the competition in the coming months.’

Bradford was an international centre of textile manufacture in the 19th century. Today it is a major tourist and retail centre and a UNESCO City of Film.

The West Yorkshire city’s population is expected to rise to 584,000 by 2022 and Bradford Metropolitan District Council is planning to deliver around 30,000 new homes and become a zero-carbon district by 2038.

Greig & Stephenson won planning permission to overhaul a shopping area at the heart of Bradford city centre two years ago. Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum picked AOC for a new £2.9 million suite of Sound and Vision Galleries last year.

Bradford was announced winner of the UK City of Culture 2025 competition in May last year, defeating bids by County Durham, Southampton, and Wrexham County Borough.

The latest competition seeks proposals for a moveable venue to be located in parks across the district during 2025, enabling larger-scale events to take place in the heart of local communities.

The winning entry will be selected by a panel of judges that includes representatives from Bradford 2025, the RIBA and Bradford City Council. An overall winner is expected to be announced this autumn.

The shortlist

• APPARATA Architects with Arinjoy Sen and Structure Workshop
• Carter Gregson Gray with Structure Workshop, Studio 4215 & Studio Three Sixty
• GWP Architecture + FAUM Architecture with EMPACE and Bradford Moor Pass
• IF_DO with Street Space Community CIC and Simple Works TLD
• New Practice with Common Wealth and Reeves & Bond