Perkins & Will replaces BDP on £600m hospital job as relationship fails

BDP has been dropped from a high-profile £600m job to design two hospitals in Leeds and been replaced by a team formed by rival bidder Perkins & Will.

The practice wasannounced as the winnerof the £9.5m design contract to design an adults’ and a children’s hospital for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in August.

But the trust has now said it was “not able to progress” with discussions on the scheme following a period of preferred bidder engagement. It did not divulge further details of the break-down.

The practice will now be replaced by the runner-up in the competition, a Perkins & Will team led by Penoyre & Prasad with Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

The trust’s finance director Simon Worthington said: “We were unable to proceed with one of our tenderers but, in accordance with good procurement practice, the right thing to do was to follow due process and this has resulted in the Perkins & Will team being appointed as the trust’s preferred bidder to take forward this design opportunity.

“The competition process to appoint an architect was very strong with a number of international practices taking part which meant we received some exceptional concept designs.”

BDP’s proposalsshowed a complex of buildingswhich the architect said had been inspired by the hills and valleys of the Yorkshire Dales.

Worthington said the Perkins & Will concept design was “very exciting and will create a fantastic landmark for the hospital and the city of Leeds and we are delighted to be working with them to create the new hospitals.”

The trust said Perkins & Wills’ designs hark back to the original Leeds General Infirmary opened by Prince Albert in 1869, which prioritised light and air.

该方案将包括一个屋顶广场和花园，“拥有当地的植物和树木，将受到当地景观的启发”。

BDP’s designs had also been set to include large outdoor spaces filled with daylight, greenery and providing panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

Following their unveiling, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Julian Hartley had called BDP’s proposals “inspirational”, adding that they would create a “landmark public building, of real architectural quality, of which Leeds can truly be proud.”

Perkins & Will managing principal Mark Rowe said: “It’s obviously a huge privilege to be entrusted with the design of such a prominent site in one of the country’s most important cities.

“与信托机构密切合作，我们相信我们可以交付一个优秀的建筑，不仅支持模范的临床护理和治疗，而且随着时间的推移，可以成为利兹市景观的珍贵一部分，就像乔治·吉尔伯特·斯科特模范的原始医院一样。”

BDP拒绝置评。

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was one of six to be awarded a share of £2.7bn of funding as part of the first wave of the government’s health infrastructure plan.

The shortlist for the competition also included CF Moller, HOK and NBBJ.