Official UK procurement notice
Albert Cross Design Contest
Authority: Glasgow City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGlasgow City Council (GCC) is initiating a landmark architectural design contest to redevelop two prominent gap sites at Albert Cross, situated within the historic East Pollokshields Conservation Area. These sites were formerly occupied by B-listed tenement blocks, which were tragically lost to fires in 2019 and 2020.
The Design Contest is a call for architects to submit design proposals for both sites as part shared vision for the cross. The contest will be run as a 2 stage process, commencing with the submission of an initial diagrammatic conceptual design which will be judged anonymously by the judging panel. From this a shortlist of 3 entrants will be invited to develop their ideas further to the Stage 2 submission with Cost Plan and named design team, from which an outright winner will then be selected.
The depth and complexity of the Stage 2 submission information included should be in line with RIBA Plan of Work 2020 for an “early” Stage 3: Spatial Coordination (or for an “advanced” Stage 2: Concept Design)
It is envisaged that, subject to approvals and acquisition of the sites, the winner may be awarded a Design Services Contract to further their design proposal into a full planning application for one or both sites, at Council’s sole discretion.
More detailed information is contained within the Albert Cross Design Contest Brief which will be available on the Public Contract Scotland Tendering Portal.
It is our intention to publish all documents relating to the Design Contest on Public Contract Scotland Tendering on Friday 21 August 2026.
The Council will reserve the right to award a Design Services Contract under Regulation 33(6) of The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
CPV: Architectural design services · Architectural services for buildings · Architectural, engineering and planning services · Design consultancy services · Organisation of architectural design contests
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
This contest is formed of 2 stages:
Stage 1 and Stage 2 will involve a blind judging panel who will evaluate anonymous submissions against the following criteria:
a)Design Quality and Innovation: Creativity, clarity, and architectural excellence.
b)Heritage Sensitivity: Respect for conservation principles and contextual appropriateness.
c)Sustainability: Environmental performance and long-term resilience.
d)Community Benefit: Contribution to social, cultural, and economic vitality.
e)Deliverability: Practicality, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with planning policy.
The SPD will only be issued to and requested from those participants shortlisted following the Stage 1 judging.
Only the top 3 participants that successfully pass the SPD shall be progressed and invited to participate in Stage 2 of the contest
At Stage 2 in addition to the above criteria the Cost Plan will also be evaluated.
Further detailed information is provided within the Albert Cross Design Contest Brief.
- RestrictedContest
To be eligible, practice must:
1.Be RIAS chartered and within the GIA Glasgow chapter.
2.Have the lead architect be ARB registered. Teams must accurately declare ARB registration status and any misrepresentation will lead to disqualification
- Participants must confirm their commitment to gain the associated insurances as outlined below for any resulting Design Services Contract, GCC requirements outlined below:
(i) entrants employing staff shall maintain Employers Liability Insurance with a minimum indemnity of 10,000,000 GBP for any one claim and unlimited in the period
(ii) Public Liability Insurance with a minimum indemnity of 5,000,000 GBP for any one claim and unlimited in the period
(iii) Products Liability Insurance to 5,000,000 GBP for any one claim and unlimited in the period
(iv)In respect of services to be performed Professional Indemnity cover to 3,000,000 GBP or any one event in the aggregate. It should be noted that this is a provisional estimated level of insurance, however, should GCC award a Design Services Contract Professional Indemnity insurance will be set depending on the value/risk.
Whilst it is accepted that entrants to Stage 1 may not be operating at a scale that requires this level of insurance cover as standard,; it is required that all entrants, if shortlisted to proceed to Stage 2, agree to gain the required insurance cover.
- The participant will grant the Council Title to all existing and future Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the submi…
- Technical & professional ability
Architects
- Second stage candidates
- up to 3 candidates invited to tender
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Cancelled
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 19 Aug 2026, 16:39 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Sept 2026, 16:35 BST
- Authority reference
GCC006709CPU- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-087479- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e7fdFind a Tender
- Review procedure
An economic operator that suffers or risks suffering loss or damage attributable to a breach of duty under Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 may bring proceedings in the Sheriff Court or Court of Session. Applicable timescales for bringing proceeding are as set out within the regulations.
Publisher note: The following information will be available to participants at Stage 1: Aerial View overmarked with site boundaries AutoCAD surveyed elevations of neighbouring gables, with annotated datum levels East Pollokshields Conservation Area Appraisal South Central Local Development Framework The following information will be provided for shortlisted participants at Stage 2: AutoCAD file of topographical survey Utility Services locations Please refer to the Albert Cross Design Brief for further detailed information. (SC Ref:843081)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 21 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
15 Sept 2026 → 21 Sept 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published41 days ago15 Sept 2026, 16:35 BST
- Submission deadline35 days ago21 Sept 2026, 12:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to cancelled15 Sept 2026, 16:35 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast1 further award records carry no date or value.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Glasgow Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace CourtReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.