The LFA and Network Rail have launched a new open call competition for a reusable prototype exhibition concept – including content for the first exhibition – to be installed at London Euston Station during the London Festival of Architecture in June 2021. The exhibition display will showcase Network Rail’s Design Guidance Series – a suite of up to 29 documents highlighting Network Rail’s commitment to quality design.
All information for entrants can be found here.
The open call invites emerging architects, designers, artists and curators, to submit a design proposal for an exhibition display that will test the nature and future of creative and cultural exhibitions on railway stations. Network Rail and the LFA are keen to explore the changing nature of stations and their role in communities. This competition presents an exciting opportunity to see how station spaces can play a stronger role in the learning and engagement of communities through design, and provide an insight into the processes and initiatives that enhance rail journey experiences.
As well as offering engaging and joyful new display solutions, entrants are encouraged to consider incorporating modular elements to their prototype design that could be relocated to other Network Rail managed stations for any future exhibitions.
Following the initial expression of interest stage, shortlisted individuals and/or practices will be awarded an honorarium of £500 to develop a design concept. The winning team, to be announced in April, will then be awarded £12,000 (including a £4,000 design fee) to develop a design to be delivered in June 2021 as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
The Curating Concourses exhibition is the latest in a series of successful partnerships between the London Festival of Architecture and Network Rail, including the 2020 ‘Sitting Pretty’ programme which saw new seating designed by emerging architects and designers installed in mainline stations across London. In 2018, the newly-transformed London Bridge station hosted an exhibition of Baghdadi architecture in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq – the first time an exhibition of Iraqi architecture had been exhibited outside the country for over 30 years.
The Curating Concourses competition is being judged by an expert panel including:
- Anthony Dewar (Professional Head Buildings and Architecture Safety, Technical and Engineering, Network Rail)
- Frank Anatole (Principal Architect, Network Rail)
- Francesca Perry (Editor, ICON Magazine)
- Dinah Casson (Co-founder and Director, Casson Mann)
- Tamsie Thomson (Managing Director, New London Architecture)
- Sumitra Upham (Senior Curator of Public Programmes, The Design Museum)
- Jason Bruges (Artist and Designer, Jason Bruges Studio)
Anthony Dewar, head of buildings and architecture at Network Rail, said:
“Railway stations play a vital role in our communities and so I am delighted we are launching this competition. This is a great opportunity for entrants to share creative and forward-thinking exhibition designs that highlight the cultural value of station spaces and engage and inform passengers, enhancing their journey experience.”
Tamsie Thomson, managing director of New London Architecture, said:
“Although London’s station concourses are some of the city’s largest public spaces, their curatorial potential has been overlooked – until now. This is a fantastic opportunity for architects, designers, artists and curators to create an imaginative exhibition concept that can enliven station spaces, and support displays that will be seen by many thousands of people.”
[this competition is now closed]
This competition is part of the NLA Collaborate.
