10.11.15
HS2 appoints 45-people independent design panel
HS2 Ltd has finished recruiting its independent design panel that will support and advise the project on key design principles.
The panel – chaired by Sadie Morgan, who is also part of the government's £100bn National Infrastructure Commission led by Lord Adonis – will help deliver HS2’s design based around the principles of ‘people, place and time’.
Experts in the panel hail from backgrounds in urban, landscape, EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), digital, brand and product design.
They will work alongside architects, sustainability experts and engineering specialists to guide HS2’s development.
Simon Kirby, HS2 Ltd boss, said: “It’s a mark of HS2’s significance that it’s attracted such a wealth of talent to help us deliver this transformational piece of infrastructure for the national.
“Forty-five experts will form the independent design panel team, contributing to the project’s development in areas where their specialist experience and opinion is required.”
And Robert Goodwill, transport minister, said the highly-skilled group will ensure travelling on the high-speed line, once ready, will make travelling “easy and pleasurable”, with trains guaranteed to stop at “impressive stations”.
Members will also form part of the regional site-specific design panels, such as at Birmingham Curzon Street station, to ensure the whole project benefits from their range of skills.
Morgan, who had already been appointed chair in July when the panel recruitment was launched, said today: “I am delighted that we’re now up and running with the HS2 independent design panel. Our aim is to mentor and inspire HS2 to design a transformational railway system which will exceed all of our expectations.
“The British creative and engineering industry is already delivering outstanding examples of design excellence around the world. HS2 is a huge opportunity to bring that brilliance home.”
She is also part of the government's new £100bn National Infrastructure commission
As planned in July, the panel is expected to begin working from autumn this year.
The government believes that cementing the project’s design vision so early on in its development will provide a head-start in rebalancing the economy.
It will build on similar successes where far-sighted design approaches were implemented early on, such as with London’s Olympic Park – where design focused on the long-term development and sustainability of the site, as well as on the Games’ legacy.
(Top image: Sadie Morgan, c. dRMM)