"Work will finally start on Friargate project this year"

[dutchman]

Work on Coventry’s delayed Friargate project will finally start this year after an architect was appointed.



Award-winning international firm Gross Max has been hired to deliver the scheme – which promises to create up to 15,000 new jobs.

Proposals for the 37-acre site includes office space, two hotels, new homes and supporting retail and restaurants.

The development, which will be built alongside Coventry’s railway station, is being led by developer Friargate Coventry LLP in partnership with Coventry City Council.

Work on the regeneration project, which will be delivered in phases over the next 15 years, is now expected to start in late 2013.

Gross Max will be responsible for the design of all public spaces, streets, squares and parks within the development after winning a competitive selection process.

Stephen Reynolds, of Friargate Coventry LLP, said: “Gross Max share our vision for place-making with an excellent track record in creating sustainable environments that have a traditional feel and contemporary style.

“Friargate is about far more than creating new office buildings. The master plan will establish new walking routes and public spaces to encourage pedestrian movement from the train station to the city centre.

“The new public realm will define the master plan and establish Friargate as the new gateway to the city centre.”

Gross Max has a string of high-profile, international projects behind it, with a portfolio that includes the Shi Ling Park, in Chengdu, China, and the transformation of the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin into a contemporary public park.

Closer to home, the firm was behind work on the public spaces around the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Botanical Gardens in London, the Turner Contemporary in Margate and Glasgow’s Museum Of Transport.

Eelco Hooftman, director of Gross Max, added: “This project offers us the opportunity to create new links between the station and city centre, tying these spaces back together.

“It is important for us to be an integrated part of the masterplan team, along with the architects, engineers and our client, working collaboratively towards a common purpose in terms of the design and feel of the spaces, ensuring that there is one seamless development, rather than a series of disjointed spaces.”

Friargate Coventry LLP will be among delegates at international property show MIPIM 2013 in France next week, which will highlight the city to an international audience of more than 30,000 developers and investors.

[rebbonk]

And the City centre's half empty as it is

[dutchman]

Interesting link, thanks