Expression of Interest - National Railway Museum Central Hall Design Competition

Overview

Located in the heart of York, one of the world’s most important railway cities, the National Railway Museum is set for a transformation. The museum is poised to become the cultural anchor for York Central, one of the largest city centre brownfield regeneration projects in the UK, and indeed Europe.

The re-routing of a major road that currently bisects the museum’s formerly industrial site and the regenerative uplift of the wider redevelopment means the museum can now create a revitalised physical presence, reflecting its status as a national cultural institution. Strategically, it aims to become the ​‘World’s Railway Museum’ – attracting new audiences interested in innovative technology, engineering and science – as well as better serving existing and emerging communities.

Accordingly, the National Railway Museum Central Hall Design Competition focuses on an emblematic project due to open in 2025 as part of the museum’s 50th anniversary. This two-stage competition is open to both national and international integrated design teams, which include architects and structural, civil and services engineers.

The new centrepiece building will create outstanding welcome, arrival and gallery spaces as well as improve the site’s connectivity and legibility. Circa 4,500 sqm, it will combine a new entrance experience with a spectacular 1,000 sqm gallery and public-facing spaces for orientation and reception. These spaces will showcase future acquisitions and innovative technology, as well as introducing the museum’s world-class collection.

The museum’s intention is that the Central Hall, which has a construction value of £16.5 million, will be of the highest architectural quality, embodying a confident national museum aesthetic (rather than station architecture). As the emerging brief for competition finalists explains in the Search Statement, this should use warm, natural materials to reference the existing site and historic buildings and show an appreciation of scale appropriate to the context.

Shortlisted teams will also be able to propose enhancements to some of the fabric, infrastructure and organisation of the existing adjoining buildings; this secondary aspect of the project having an associated construction budget of no more than £10 million. Depending on the post-competition concept design, a proportion of these works may be delivered by the appointed team for this project.

To enter the competition, teams will need to read the Search Statement, fill out the online form and upload documents detailing their company information, proposed team composition and relevant experience. No design is required at the first stage.

At the second stage at least five teams will be shortlisted; each will receive an honorarium of £30,000 for their submissions once the competition concludes with the selection of the winner.

About The National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum has long been regarded as a national treasure and is ranked amongst the most popular attractions in the UK, welcoming more than 750,000 visitors each year.

The museum is currently creating a dynamic new identity for itself – from a place associated with the past, to one which uses its collections to explore the contemporary and future power of science, technology and engineering.

In its strategic plan, the National Railway Museum’s Vision 2025, the transformed museum will juxtapose the vivid beginnings of railway history with the cutting-edge innovations shaping our world today. By celebrating the past, present and future of railways and engineering, the National Railway Museum aims to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation of engineers, innovators and thinkers.

In addition, as the cultural anchor of one of the largest city centre developments in the UK and Europe, the National Railway Museum will take a more holistic view of the purpose of a museum and explore how it can become a social and cultural resource for the city, meeting the needs of its audiences – local, national and international. The National Railway Museum in 2025 will be a must-see destination, a world-class institution and an essential part of its community.

The project at the heart of this competition, the Central Hall, will not only present a spectacular new 1,000 sqm gallery and public-facing spaces for orientation and reception, it will also be the catalyst that connects, rationalises and integrates the current museum estate.

There are currently two primary exhibition spaces at the museum, both rich in rail history: the Grade II Listed Station Hall, originally the Goods Station where rail vehicles were loaded and unloaded, and the Great Hall, originally part of the York North Engine Sheds, where workers prepared giant steam locomotives to pull mainline trains.

These will remain as the primary spaces exhibiting rail vehicles – but the new centrepiece building will showcase future acquisitions and innovative technology as well as explore all aspects of the railway’s evolution.

Aims

The National Railway Museum’s new Central Hall needs to:

• Be of outstanding architectural quality – the centrepiece of the museum’s wider strategic investment, Vision 2025 – and give the museum a revitalised physical presence worthy of a national cultural institution
• Present a compelling and appealing new welcome and arrival space for the National Railway Museum to position the museum as the cultural anchor for the wider York Central regeneration project
• Be the catalyst that connects, rationalises and integrates the existing museum estate
• Present a spectacular new exhibition gallery with the aim of increasing visitor numbers and encouraging return visits (note: exhibition design is not in scope)
• Embody a national museum aesthetic (rather than railway station architecture) using warm, natural materials to reference the existing site and historic buildings and showing a sense of scale that is appropriate to agreed development parameters
• Serve the needs of existing and new communities – offer a safe space to gather, learn, play and relax; practically, integrate passer-by and local pedestrian access through the site during opening hours
• Be ​‘open for all’ – exceeding expectations and minimum standards of access and inclusion
• Demonstrate a holistic approach to sustainability, from design and construction through to operations and use, to reduce operating costs by improving the museum’s operational efficiency
• Increase income generation and visitor dwell-time through improved retail, catering and event facilities
• Take advantage of the opportunities presented by the surrounding York Central development

The Competition

The National Railway Museum Central Hall Design Competition is a two-stage process and is being run in accordance with EU procurement guidelines and the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This competition has been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

This competition is being managed on behalf of the National Railway Museum by Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC).

STAGE ONE – EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

An open call for participation that is aimed at attracting the very best design talent and is open to international as well as national teams.

No design is required at the first stage. Integrated design teams of architects and structural, civil and service engineers who meet the Search Statement’s requirements are invited to submit an Expression of Interest detailing company information; details of the proposed team; and relevant experience.

The deadline for this is: 14.00 BST Wednesday 16 October 2019.

Submissions for the first stage will be received electronically via the online form. Competitors should read and take note of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) associated with this.

A shortlist of at least five teams will be selected to participate in the second stage of the competition. All competitors will be contacted by the competition organiser MRC prior to the start of stage two.

STAGE TWO – DESIGN CONCEPT

Shortlisted teams will be provided with detailed briefing information and invited to visit York for a site tour and seminar. Internationally-based competitors may be required to propose a UK-based executive architect as part of their team at stage two.

A technical panel will review the entries and produce a report for the jury, who will conduct interviews and select a winner.

As part of a wide-ranging public engagement process, the National Railway Museum will hold an exhibition of the schemes submitted by finalist teams in York in February 2020.

Each shortlisted team that submits a compliant entry and attends the jury interviews will receive an honorarium of £30,000 at the conclusion of the competition.

The winner announcement is expected in March 2020.

Competition Timeline