SBC releases design shortlist

LONDON’S South Bank developer SBC has drawn up a shortlist for a masterplanner architect to redevelop the site, which could open up long-term design opportunities.

The interior design process, encompassing three initiatives plus the renovation of the Royal Festival Hall and Jubilee Gardens, could begin in 18 months.

The South Bank Employers Group is responsible for the area’s signage programme.

Those shortlisted to be masterplanner are Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones, Michael Hopkins and Partners, Rick Mather and Associates, and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

Funding will come from retailers seeking to move into the complex and sources such as National Lottery funding, the British Film Institute and private backing.

The SBC spokeswoman says, “The project will be phased. The masterplanner is likely to be appointed mid-May, and will have a very set job to do. We are saying we want you to… see what can be achieved from these proposals.”

The three proposals are for the relocation by the BFI of its National Film Theatre and Museum of the Moving Image, two new concert halls and a new Hayward Gallery next to the Royal Festival Hall, and a review of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery.

Other changes include the soon-to-open IMAX cinema, the London Eye, plus the proposed redevelopment of the Shell Centre and walkways.