John McAslan and Partners has been named the preferred company to undertake the design contract, worth over £2.2million, for the George Square Area Project, also known as 'Block C' of the city centre Avenues programme, funded through the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

Alongside the development of a new design for George Square, Glasgow's principal civic and cultural space, the George Square Area Strategy project will include the George Street and St Vincent Street / Place Avenues, as well as John Street, Dundas Street, Dundas Lane, and a new high-quality pedestrian link from Queen Street Station to Argyle Street, passing through the square, Hanover Street and Miller Street.

91 expressions of interest in - and 17 submissions for - the design contract were made, with a shortlist of seven teams going to a final consideration on the criteria of quality and price before John McAslan and Partners were selected with a score of 92.39%.

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The £2.293million contract award sees the appointment of a consultant and a multi-disciplinary team who will provide full staged design services in accordance with current RIBA stages 0-4 (preparation to technical design). The team will also provide on-going design and technical support during RIBA stages 5-7 (the construction period).

The redesign of George Square will factor in Glasgow's hosting of major events in the coming years, including COP26 and the UCI Cycling World Championships, with construction work beginning shortly after the latter in the summer of 2023.

The project will also look to develop a sustainable connection between George Square and Queen Street Station, delivering the necessary accessibility and servicing requirements with appropriate public transport and active travel facilities and infrastructure. The scope of works for the project will be established as the design process progresses, with detail to be developed through a further process of analysis and public engagement with a wide variety of key stakeholder groups.

There will now be a 10-day standstill period before the design contract for the project is awarded.