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 is available on the Public Contract Scotland Tendering Portal.
The Council accordingly reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to award a Design Services Contract for the further development of the winning design in accordance with the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a Contract notice in accordance with 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)Benefit to the Community: 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 the top 6 ranked participants shortlisted following the Stage 1 judging.
SPD submissions will be evaluated in the order established by the ranking achieved during Stage 1 Initial Concept Designs with only the top 3 participants that successfully pass the SPD progressing to 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
- 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:
(i) Participants 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 with a minimum indemnity of 5,000,000 (GBP) for any one claim and unlimited in the period and in the aggregate;
(iv) in respect of services to be performed Professional Indemnity cover with a minimum indemnity of 3,000,000 (GBP) for 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.
- Participants must grant the Council Title to existing and Future IPR
For those progressing to SPD the Financial Vetting requirements are as follows:
- Trading Performance an overall positive outcome on pre tax profits over a 3 year period.
- Balance Sheet Strength Net worth of the organisation must be positive at the time of evaluation and organisation must not be subject to an insolvency process.
S…
- 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
- Closed
- 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
- 15 Sept 2026, 16:32 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Sept 2026, 16:32 BST
- Authority reference
GCC006723CPU- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-087476- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06fa82Find 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: Land Register of Scotland Map overmarked with site boundaries AutoCAD surveyed elevations of neighbouring gables, with annotated datum levels East Pollokshields Conservation Area Appraisal South Central Local Development Framework AutoCAD file of topographical survey Utility Services locations Site Photographs Please refer to the Albert Cross Design Brief for further detailed information. The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 32757. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 (SC Ref:842973)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 16 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
15 Sept 2026 → 16 Oct 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published42 days ago15 Sept 2026, 16:32 BST
- Submission deadline11 days ago16 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
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.