City Student Makes His Mark

Birmingham student Marc Turley is celebrating early-career success after winning 'The Space', a prestigious design competition organised by professional and financial services lobby group Birmingham Future. Mr Turley, who is currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in architecture at the University of Central England (UCE) while working part time for architects D5, was announced as the winner at a special exhibition on Thursday 17 February. Commendations were also awarded to Jean Francois and Tai Fung Wai from UCE. Mr Francois also received the Birmingham Future Chairman's Award which was decided by popular vote on the night. The competition, which was launched this year, encourages design and architecture students from the city's higher education institutions to let their imaginations run wild and present their ideas for a new city landmark to fill one of nine selected 'spaces' around the city. Although the ideas are unlikely to become reality, the competition's conceptual format provided a valuable opportunity for students to apply their design skills to a typical commercial project. The winning design - a registry office inspired by the work of Peter Eisenmann and comprising individual spaces arranged on a grid to illustrate the links between birth, death, marriage and divorce - was selected by a distinguished panel of judges including Philip Singleton, Martin Brown and Simon Delahunty-Forrest from Birmingham City Council's City Design Team. As Philip Singleton, City Centre Adviser at Birmingham City Council, explained: "'The Space' showcases the talents of the city's up-and-coming art, design and architecture students and helps them to apply the skills they have learned during their course to key city centre sites. "The city is home to a wealth of young design talent and, by taking part in the competition, students have not only had an opportunity to showcase their work to industry leaders but also to build-up a portfolio that will support their future job applications." Warren Jukes, director at Associated Architects and member of Birmingham Future's City Centre team, added: "As the ongoing regeneration of the city has shown, innovative and inspirational design plays a crucial role in developing the city's image. "Iconic developments such as BullRing and Brindleyplace have already done much to raise Birmingham's profile and it is crucial to the city's continued economic success that this process continues. "Making the city an attractive location in which to live and build a career is a key factor in encouraging the best business brains to come and work in the city. The competition plays a crucial role in bringing both the new talent and potential employers together." The competition was backed by a wide range of Birmingham firms, with Associated Architects, Birmingham Architectural Association, Birmingham City Council, Davis Langdon LLP, Phoenix Beard, Royal Institue of British Architects (RIBA) West Midlands and UCE all providing support. Clare Jenkins of RIBA West Midlands commented: "We're delighted to be associated with The Space and have been very impressed by the standard of entries. Supporting the next generation is crucial to the industry's continued development and competitions, such as The Space, have a key role to play in encouraging professional excellence."

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