The President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Jane Duncan, has today (9 February 2016) given the following comment to The Architects’ Journal regarding the procurement of the Garden Bridge.
Mrs Duncan has also written directly to the Mayor regarding this issue.
RIBA President, Jane Duncan, said:
The allegations relating to the procurement of the Garden Bridge are extremely concerning. All those who bid for work have a right to expect that their submissions will be judged fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.
Given the high profile nature of this project, the amount of public money at stake and the seriousness of the allegations, we would urge that the project is put on hold and the whole procurement process is then opened up to detailed scrutiny.
This is by no means a comment on the work of the immensely talented Heatherwick Studio and Arup teams. Our concerns are about the fairness and transparency of the procurement process.
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