23.07.15
HS2 kick-starts recruitment of design experts
HS2 has begun recruiting up to 30 design experts of different disciplines to oversee the design development of the railway.
Design Panel chair, Sadie Morgan, said: “[Experts] will help make sure that design remains at the core of this project and delivers all its potential benefits for future generations.
“HS2 needs to work not only for its passengers but for all the communities it affects. It should respect and enhance the environment and stand the test of time. I have confidence that with an influential design panel we can ensure that HS2 provides an outstanding passenger experience and best value to the nation.”
The design panel will be a “critical friend” to the rail, after HS2 Ltd published its ‘design vision’ in March calling for “three core design principles of people, place and time”.
Simon Kirby, HS2 Ltd’s chief executive, welcomed the launch of the panel search and argued that design has a “central role to play to ensure that HS2 achieves its full potential”.
He added: “It must work for everyone, not just those who use it. How the line exists in urban and rural environments; how its stations work as public realm and enable regeneration; how design should be inclusive. The design panel’s role, in keeping the project true to these aims, will be the key to successfully delivering HS2.”
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP advocated the need to make HS2 a “world-class railway” and said he encouraged “talented people from a wide range of disciplines to become members of the panel”.
The diverse pool of disciplines required will involve areas from design management and engineering right down to philosophers and rail operators.
Experts in the panel will begin working in autumn 2015. Applications can be made through HS2 Ltd’s website.