The successful designers will form part of the design teams working with HS2 Ltd to develop and refine the detailed plans for the two brand new stations, with the first trains due to arrive in 2026.
The shortlisted bidders, and their lead architects for the Birmingham stations are below:
- Arcadis - Foster + Partners
- Arup - Wilkinson Eyre
- Mott MacDonald - Weston Williamson + Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Glenn Howells Architects
- TEAM CURZON/INTERCHANGE: Jacobs, BuroHappold Engineering and Idom,
- WSP - Grimshaw working with Leslie Jones Architecture
Together, Curzon Street and Interchange will welcome tens of thousands of people every day to the West Midlands, providing easy and accessible onward connections to local transport, airports and connecting rail services as well as step-free access from street to seat.
At Curzon Street, a public plaza will welcome passengers to what will be the largest building in Birmingham and a new icon for the city. Seven 400m long platforms will provide services to core HS2 destinations like London, Manchester and Leeds and as well as beyond, to the North West, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and the North East.
The Interchange station will provide fast, reliable and direct access to Birmingham Airport for thousands of HS2 passengers from across the UK. A people-mover will link the station with the Airport, the existing Birmingham International station and the National Exhibition Centre.
In total more than 91,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the wider development areas surrounding the two stations.
Welcoming the shortlist, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive, Mark Thurston said:
“The shortlisting of such strong contenders for the Birmingham design jobs is a major milestone for the project – setting the scene for the next stage of the station design process. Together with the successful bidders, we will go on to deliver one of HS2’s most tangible legacies – two brand new stations at the heart of the UK’s new high speed rail network.
“Curzon Street and Interchange both represent unique opportunities to showcase the very best in engineering and design while also delivering value for money. We are looking for partners to help us deliver stations which not only provide unparalleled levels of accessibility, ease and convenience for our passengers but who will work with local communities to help unlock wider regeneration, new jobs, homes and opportunities.”
The winners for stations design will be announced early next year.