Meis ‘extremely disappointed’ at Everton stadium exitDan Meis has admitted he is ‘extremely disappointed’ at being dropped from the delivery of Everton Football Club’s new stadium
The founder of MEIS architects said the New York practice had worked hard to get under the skin of the Merseyside club and the city of Liverpool while designing the 52,000-seater stadium.
Everton’s contractor, Laing O’Rourke, has appointed London practice Pattern Design as technical architect for the arena planned for Bramley-Moore Dock.
It is understood that Meis learned last month that his firm – which drew up the original designs and had been involved in the job since 2016 – would not be appointed for any role on the delivery of the project.
‘I was extremely disappointed to learn that we wouldn’t be involved in the ongoing work on the stadium,’ he told the AJ.
‘It is my belief that it is critical to have the design architect in a guardian role in order to protect the design that was submitted to planning.
‘We spent more than four years embedding ourselves in the culture of the city and the club during the design process. I believe that level of commitment contributed to the overwhelmingly supportive response to the design.’
MEIS architects was appointed to the Everton stadium project in 2016. Sheppard Robson was brought on board a year later before effectively being replaced by Pattern at the end of 2018.
It is understood that the New York firm had also teamed up with Manchester-based stadium specialists AFL Architects to bolster its specialist and local knowledge with a view to remaining an integral part of the project through the delivery stage..
A source close to Everton Football Club said MEIS Architects’ contract came to a ‘natural end’ as it only covered design works to RIBA Stage 3.
The source added that the club was ‘delighted’ with the concept designs and that the finished product would ‘always be a Dan Meis designed stadium’.
They said that despite Laing O’Rourke ultimately choosing to proceed with Pattern as technical architect, the club had held talks with Meis about other potential roles for the New York practice on the arena. The source claimed these talks had eventually soured when the architect went public with his disappointment at not securing the technical architect contract.
MEIS architects last summer revealed images of its designs for the stadium.
The practice said the brick base of the proposed stadium paid homage to Scottish architect Archibald Leitch’s latticework at the club’s current Goodison Park home, adding that the futuristic steel-and-glass upper level provided a modern flourish.
The scheme will provide a large, steep south stand to house 13,000 home fans on match days, with supporters as close to the action as regulations allow. Both the north and south stands could be converted into safe standing if regulations change.
Everton revealed at the start of 2018 that the cost of the stadium had ‘escalated significantly’.
Source :
Architechts Journal