Architects appointed to build Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s Town Hall

Tower Hamlets Mayor, John “two jobs” Biggs, is making sure that Mayor Lutfur’s vision for a new Town Hall in Whitechapel is coming together.

As the Mulberry Place Town Hall was being demolished, so its owners could redevelop the site, the Council knew it was going to have to move by the end of decade. Mayor Rahman decided it would be cheaper for the Council to buy its own Town Hall building rather than continue wasting its money on renting. The original Royal London Hospital building was up for sale – and would clearly make the perfect site, not least because of its transport links. Buying the hospital for a new Town Hall would put the Council at the heart of development in Whitechapel too. Initially, John Biggs put a hold on Mayor Rahman’s plans – but, having spent some weeks scrutinising them, he had to agree the £77 million scheme made good sense.

Now the Council has taken the major step of appointing an architect to look after the conversion of the building. The process of choosing an architect began with over 100 expressions of interests, which led to 23 bids being submitted at the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) stage. Six bidders were then invited to tender for the project.

The successful bid had to demonstrate their expertise and experiences in a number of areas including working on new building and refurbishment projects of a similar complexity and scale, including redeveloping listed buildings. Bidders were also required to ensure that they could provide strong project management throughout the contract and ensure that work would be delivered within agreed costs.

Following the final evaluation and scoring of the tendered bids, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) came out as clear winners, having shown how they met the criteria across a number of areas. As part of the winning tender, AHMM has agreed to provide a range of wider community benefits including providing access to jobs and work experience for residents. They will also work closely with schools on curriculum projects and mentor pupils interested in a career in design and architecture.

The overall plan includes the major refurbishment of John Onslow House in Roman Road, which AHMM will also manage as lead design consultants.

Paul Monaghan, Director of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) said: “This is an amazing opportunity to create a civic beacon for Tower Hamlets, and we look forward to the challenge of working with new and old to make a new type of town hall at the heart of the community. One of the most exciting aspects of the project will involve bringing the 18th century Royal London Hospital back to life as a public building open to the borough.”

•London Bangla asked AHMM if the company paid tax in the UK and was assured that it did. We also asked, given that this is a Labour borough, if the company recognised a trade union for its staff. We await a definitive response, which we’ll add in here when we get it.

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