River Soar shortlist announced

RIBA have announced the shortlist for the £1.5m River Soar footbridge competition in Leicester. Six entrants have been selected from over 150 expressions of interest:

• Allies and Morrison with Price and Myers
• Explorations Architecture, Paris with Buro Happold
• Knight Architects with Gifford Bridge Designers
• McDowell & Benedetti with Arup
• Moxon Architects with Arup
• Ramboll Whitbybird

Some interesting choices there, with a number of firms who are not the better known architects and consultants. I think that's a good thing, as one of the problems with a closed competition such as this one is the risk that it may just feature "the usual suspects".

The entrants have to submit their designs in February, and a winner should be announced in March 2009. A preliminary briefing paper for the project is available online [PDF].