Judge George Ferguson promises to listen to public’s views

The teams shortlisted to design Bristol’s £90 million arena have revealed the first images of their proposals.

The five anonymous entries are going on a public tour in the city as part of a consultation about the 12,000-seat venue close to Temple Meads station.

The shortlisted teams include Wilkinson Eyre, Grimshaw and Populous, whittled down from 30 expressions of interest.

The winner will be announced in March by a jury led by Bristol’s mayor and former architect George Ferguson, who said they would consider all the public’s comments.

The criteria against which the five schemes will be judged are:

•           The architectural concept, how it fits within the urban context and offers a vibrant experience;

•           The deliverability and affordability of the design;

•           The flexibility, efficiency and sustainability of the venue; and

•           How the design meets all the requirements of Bristol council and the operators.

Ferguson said the RIBA competition was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to design a great performance venue for the region.

“The successful design must above all function well, while inspiring audiences and offering a great experience for artists,” he said.

“The new arena must also work effectively and flexibly while being deliverable and affordable.

“I want to know what people think of these five shortlisted designs for this important venue, looking as much as possible beyond the imagery.”

Bristol Arena is due to open towards the end of 2017.

Funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, it is part of the 70ha Bristol Temple Quarter enterprise zone, one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects.

You can comment here: bristoltemplequarter.com/arenadesign until February 11.

The design teams

•           Grimshaw (with Manica Architecture, Thornton Tomasetti, ME Engineers and Neil Woodger Acoustics)

•           Idom (with Foreman Roberts and Nagata Acoustics)

•           Populous (with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Buro Happold and Vanguardia)

•           White Arkitekter (with Arup and Sandy Brown Acoustic Consultant)

•           Wilkinson Eyre (with Arup)