A multi-disciplinary team has been selected to support Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) in providing new market facilities and infrastructure at New Covent Garden Market (NCGM).
The URS-led integrated design team (IDT) is made up of nine organisations, including Foster & Partners Design (urban design and architecture) and Neil Tomlinson Architects (design and market spatial arrangement), alongside specialist food, transport, utilities and cost-management advisors. Together they will form a fully integrated, full service, technical team to support CGMA in the redevelopment of the market.
The IDT has been appointed on a three-stage commission, with appointments to the second and third stages being subject to CGMA review before reappointment.
The first stage, which should be delivered this summer, will be to produce a technical and design brief for the new market. Key technical components will include food handling logistics, engineering services and health and safety, as well as food legislation.
A statement from CGMA said: “This brief will primarily address the operational requirements of the market’s many tenants and stakeholders, as well as the long-term strategic needs of CGMA.
“The design brief will also include performance specifications, which will promote the most efficient use of the market space and underpin the delivery of an economically sustainable market on the NCGM site. This will refine CGMA’s minimum requirements for the new market, along with starting to address some elements of urban design around the site.”
CGMA chairman Baroness Brenda Dean said: “The team’s flexible make-up allows it to respond effectively to this project’s complex requirements.
“We expect that the brief that will be drawn up is likely to look at some of the NCGM site opportunities and constraints, and focus on the needs - now and in the future - of tenant businesses, which will allow us to deliver a modern and efficient market for the future.”
