Sir Norman Foster plans Glasgow base

Sir Norman Foster and Partners is to open a Glasgow office, following its appointment to design the new ú30m convention centre in the city.

The office will be headed by project director Robin Partington, who will set up a team with “about five people from London to start with”, says partner-in- charge of the project Ken Shuttleworth. “And we will probably be taking on staff locally as well,” he adds.

The architect will design and implement all areas of the project, which is a joint venture by Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre.

“We are currently going through the brief and will need to be on site by the end of this year to finish the project by 1996 – the SECC already has bookings for the finished buildings,” says Shuttleworth.

The architect won the job after a credentials pitch against “six to eight other groups”, says Shuttleworth. The pitch is believed to have included Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners.

Sir Norman Foster and Partners has recently completed designs for a new Congress Centre in Valencia, Spain.