Winner announced: New River Wear Crossing Competition

Date:

20 September 2005

Press office contact:

Press Office
T: +44 (0)207 580 5533
E: pressoffice@riba.org

Spence Associates, together with engineers Techniker Ltd, have won the competition to design a new vehicular and pedestrian crossing of the River Wear at Sunderland.

The first phase of the competition attracted Expressions of Interest from thirty-five (35) architectural / engineering-led consortia from across the UK, Europe, Israel, Scandinavia and the United States. The Spence/Techniker design proposal was chosen from a very strong shortlist that also included:

- Gifford & Partners Ltd / Wilkinson Eyre Architects
- Halcrow Group Ltd / Dissing+Weitling Arkitektfirma a.s. / Flint & Neill Partnership
- Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd / Yee Associates
- Marks Barfield Architects / Jacobs Babtie / Leonhardt Andrae und Partner
- Schlaich Bergermann und Partner / Gehry Partners LLP / WS Atkins Consultants Ltd

The competition sought the best conceptual approach for an original, unique, inspirational and iconic structure. The bridge will be a major, circa £43 million pound structure which will form part of the wider Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) initiative. The bridge should act as an important gateway to the city centre, lead to urban regeneration and serve as a symbol of Sunderland moving forward in the 21st Century.

The six schemes were judged anonymously by a Jury Panel that consisted of representatives from Sunderland City Council, OneNorthEast, Sunderland arc, the TyneWear Partnership, together with advisers from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The Jury Panel was extremely impressed by the quality of all the design proposals. The panel recognised that the Spence/Techniker design is a structurally challenging, complex scheme to deliver, but felt that its resolution would contribute significantly to the long-term future of the city. Sunderland City Council and Sunderland arc are looking forward to working with the team's designers to develop their challenging concept proposal.

Notes to editors

Notes to Editors:
Please ensure that the RIBA is credited when mentioning the above competition.

The RIBA Competitions Office organises bespoke architectural competitions that encourage excellence in design, offer value for money, and are run smoothly from inception through to the appointment of a winning design or architect/team. The Competitions Office has vast experience of managing competitions for a diverse range of clients, project types and budgets.
For further details visit www.ribacompetitions.com|

Spence Associates have been successful in several high profile design competitions, most notably for the Stockton-on-Tees Pedestrian Footbridge and the Turner Contemporary, Margate (scheduled for completion 2007). Recently they have been short-listed for the design of new pedestrian footbridges in Bergen (Norway) and Hull (UK).

Techniker, lead design consultant to the New River Wear Crossing, is a firm of structural engineers committed to providing best quality design solutions for all types of buildings, road and pedestrian bridges. The practice has a reputation for making practical and sensitive responses to architectural proposals.

The development of the project so far has been funded by Sunderland City Council, One NorthEast, Tyne Wear Partnership, Sunderland arc and the European Regional Development Fund.

For further information: Rose Peacock, Sunderland City Council Press Office on 0191 553 1136 or e-mail rose.peacock@sunderland.gov.uk|