Official UK procurement notice
HAR6080 Gateways to Whitechapel Market
Authority: Tower Hamlets
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNLA has partnered with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to invite architects, landscape architects, designers and artists to propose, develop and submit a design proposal for new visual focal points that act as ‘gateways’ to Whitechapel Market. The competition seeks public realm proposals that celebrate the unique character of Whitechapel and its community, transforming key locations along Whitechapel Road to better signify the market and welcome both locals and visitors. The goal is to commission an innovative and impactful design that enhances the public realm and serves the local community more effectively.
- How the procedure runs: This procurement is based upon the Competitive Flexible Procedure and is formed of two stages: • An initial shortlisting stage – Shortlisting • A tender stage to determine the Most Advantageous Tender for the Authority – Tender. Shortlisting At shortlisting stage, Bidders will be required to complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire on the Portal. Bidders will also be required to submit a single PDF submission of no more than 10-pages and maximum 5MB and include the information below. Alternatively, you can submit your application in another format (e.g. video) but the content should not exceed the equivalent of a ‘10-page limit’. Your submission should include the following: • Your experience: • Brief biographies of all the project team. • A 200-word description about your practice along with any relevant technical and consultation experience acquired through previous projects. • A selection of relevant previous work, including images. • Your response to the brief. Please provide reflections on the following prompts: • The overall design brief - why you are interested in being involved in the project and what are your initial reactions to the brief and proposed sites? • Your initial vision for the project • Your approach to working with the local community and stakeholders to inform and design your proposal if selected You can submit your response to these prompts in any format. For guidance, this should be (equivalent to) a short paragraph of max. 300 words per prompt or 90 second video per prompt. No design work or feedback on cost expectations is required for the first stage. Submissions will be shortlisted by the judging panel. Up to six shortlisted Bidders will then be invited to the Tender. Tender Those Bidders shortlisted to the Tender stage will be required to develop a design concept based on the information laid out in the tender pack and will be awarded an honorarium of £2,000 + VAT each. The work required for the second phase of the project will be reflective of the honorarium sum. The Tender stage submission should include: • Maximum 10-page PDF explaining your proposal to be shared with the jury for review, prior to interview. Your submission should (but is not limited to) include: • 2 x Boards which present your design to a public audience for consultation. Templates to be provided by NLA if shortlisted. • Detailed design drawings (we accept a variety of formats including hand or computer drawn 3D design visualisation) • Key construction details drawn to scale, with key dimensions noted • An outline of all materials, budget*, delivery and fabrication process • PowerPoint presentation for the purposes of judging *If your practice is not VAT registered, you will need to consider this when preparing your budget. Evaluation at Tender stage will be based on five criteria. • Overall Design (30%) • Costs and Feasibility (25%) • Safety and Equity (15%) • Sustainability and Longevity (15%) • Contextual Design and Public Engagement (15%) The evaluation criteria are aligned with New London Agenda – NLA's framework for best practice in city-making. The jury will be assessing submissions on the criteria above as well as the six pillars of placemaking set out in the agenda.
CPV: Architectural design services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£200,000
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Conditions of participation are set out in the Open Call Instructions available at www.londontenders.org ↗
For those Bidder who meet he conditions of participation, submissions will be given two scores:
- Practice/team profile (60%) - Does the team have skilled professionals for delivering the proposal in line with eligibility outlined in the Open Call? Does the team have a diverse set of skills and experience? Are the previous work experiences and/or their work methodologies and wider design aspirations relevant to the competition? Does the team proposed align with the eligibility criteria stated in the brief?
- Initial vision/response to the brief (40%) - Does the proposal's initial written reflection to the brief suggest innovation, surprise and creativity? Does it explore a new and original way to use and engage with the area? Is the team thinking beyond possible barriers or restrictions, and pondering how they might be broken down? Is the vision something which could be developed into an appropriate and achievable scheme for the area, in line with the brief?
Submissions will be judged on originality, demonstration of creativity, relevance to the brief as well as feasibility and how the proposal works in the context of the site.
It shall be the combined score out of 100% which is used to shortlist to a maximum of six Bidders to participate in the Tender stage.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Quality
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Conditions of participation are set out in the Open Call Instructions available at www.londontenders.org ↗
For those Bidder who meet he conditions of participation, submissions will be given two scores:
- Practice/team profile (60%) - Does the team have skilled professionals for delivering the proposal in line with eligibility outlined in the Open Call? Does the team have a diverse set of skills and experience? Are the previous work experiences and/or their work methodologies and wider design aspirations relevant to the competition? Does the team proposed align with the eligibility criteria stated in the brief?
- Initial vision/response to the brief (40%) - Does the proposal's initial written reflection to the brief suggest innovation, surprise and creativity? Does it explore a new and original way to use and engage with the area? Is the team thinking beyond possible barriers or restrictions, and pondering how they might be broken down? Is the vision something which could be developed into an appropriate and achievable scheme for the area, in line with the brief?
Submissions will be judged on originality, demonstration of creativity, relevance to the brief as well as feasibility and how the proposal works in the context of the site.
It shall be the combined score out of 100% which is used to shortlist to a maximum of six Bidders to participate in the Tender stage.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Jun 2025, 09:27 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Sept 2026, 15:42 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 Oct 2025
- Authority reference
HAR6080- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-033920- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05508aFind a Tender
- How it runs
This procurement is based upon the Competitive Flexible Procedure and is formed of two stages:
- An initial shortlisting stage – Shortlisting
- A tender stage to determine the Most Advantageous Tender for the Authority – Tender.
Shortlisting
At shortlisting stage, Bidders will be required to complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire on the Portal.
Bidders will also be required to submit a single PDF submission of no more than 10-pages and maximum 5MB and include the information below. Alternatively, you can submit your application in another format (e.g. video) but the content should not exceed the equivalent of a ‘10-page limit’.
Your submission should include the following:
- Your experience:
- Brief biographies of all the project team.
- A 200-word description about your practice along with any relevant technical and consultation experience acquired through previous projects.
- A selection of relevant previous work, including images.
- Your response to the brief. Please provide reflections on the following prompts:
- The overall design brief - why you are interested in being involved in the project and what are your initial reactions to the brief and proposed sites?
- Your initial vision for the project
- Your approach to working with the local community and stakeholders to inform and design your proposal if selected
You can submit your response to these prompts in any format. For guidance, this should be (equivalent to) a short paragraph of max. 300 words per prompt or 90 second video per prompt.
No design work or feedback on cost expectations is required for the first stage.
Submissions will be shortlisted by the judging panel. Up to six shortlisted Bidders will then be invited to the Tender.
Tender
Those Bidders shortlisted to the Tender stage will be required to develop a design concept based on the information laid out in the tender pack and will be awarded an honorarium of £2,000 + VAT each. The work required for the second phase of the project will be reflective of the honorarium sum.
The Tender stage submission should include:
- Maximum 10-page PDF explaining your proposal to be shared with the jury for review, prior to interview. Your submission should (but is not limited to) include:
- 2 x Boards which present your design to a public audience for consultation. Templates to be provided by NLA if shortlisted.
- Detailed design drawings (we accept a variety of formats including hand or computer drawn 3D design visualisation)
- Key construction details drawn to scale, with key dimensions noted
- An outline of all materials, budget*, delivery and fabrication process
- PowerPoint presentation for the purposes of judging
*If your practice is not VAT registered, you will need to consider this when preparing your budget.
Evaluation at Tender stage will be based on five criteria.
- Overall Design (30%)
- Costs and Feasibility (25%)
- Safety and Equity (15%)
- Sustainability and Longevity (15%)
- Contextual Design and Public Engagement (15%)
The evaluation criteria are aligned with New London Agenda – NLA's framework for best practice in city-making. The jury will be assessing submissions on the criteria above as well as the six pillars of placemaking set out in the agenda.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 24 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 14 Jul 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Further information and documentation can be found on www.londontenders.org ↗
Submissions are to be made through www.londontenders.org ↗
All documents are available free of charge
Timeline
20 Jun 2025 → 24 Sept 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published20 Jun 2025, 09:27 BST
- Clarification questions by14 Jul 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline24 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by387 days ago4 Oct 2025, 00:59 BST
- Contract starts359 days ago1 Nov 2025
- Assessment summaries sent41 days ago15 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published41 days ago15 Sept 2026, 15:42 BST
- Standstill ends31 days ago24 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Jun 2025- Tender notice published20 Jun 2025, 09:27 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published15 Sept 2026, 15:42 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete15 Sept 2026, 15:42 BST
- Contract signature expected14 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office S&M Architects Ltd.SMEHAR680 Gateways to Whitechapel Market14 Oct 2026 – 13 Oct 2027 | £200,000 | 28 Aug 2026standstill to 24 Sept 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6final-stage tenders · 46 at stage one | 6 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- OFFICE S&M ARCHITECTS LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender