The keys to the new Plymouth Theatre Royal Production Centre will be handed over at an official ceremony on Thursday 5th December 2002. Plans are already under way to use the facility very soon to prepare the travelling production of the musical CATS. A day of celebration is also being planned by the Theatre Royal for May 1^st 2003.

Ian Ritchie has been appointed an advisor to the Foundation, representing The Royal Academy of Arts. The Trustees of the Foundation are: Richard Haryott (Chairman), Povl Ahm, Philip Dowson, Bob Emmerson, Duncan Michael, Brian Perry and Mike Shears. The other advisors are Sir Eric Ash for The Royal Academy of Engineers, Tony Flint for The Institute of Structural Engineers, Max Fordham for The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, Sir Alan Muir Wood for Institute of Civil Engineers, and Gordon Benson for Royal Institute of British Architects. The Ove Arup Foundation give funds to worthy causes within the field of the built environment. It is focussed primarily upon supporting education projects from primary school level to University and beyond.

A public exhibition was held at Lambeth College on 24^th, 25^th and 26^th October 2002 showing a new scheme on a site adjacent to Tower Bridge and the GLA City Hall. The designs show a mixed development consisting principally of ground level cultural spaces and housing. Set in a new landscape which extends Potters Fields, the urban composition consists of eight mini-towers which mediate between More London office development to the west and the smaller grain and scale of 19th century development to the south and east. Each mini-tower has a tapering elliptical form, and they are of varying heights and orientation. They are clad largely in colourless glass. The public’s views were gathered, assessed and the scheme adapted to respond to the creative and positive suggestions made. A planning application is to be made later this year.

This year’s week-end trip is to Plymouth in October to visit the completed, but as yet unoccupied, new Production Centre for the Plymouth Theatre Royal. Special material features of this new design include the soft woven phosphor bronze wire cladding of the ‘driftwood’ elements - rehearsal, music and education spaces - set in a landscape of rocks; and the low-iron cast glass cladding of the main assembly hall. Project architect Toby Smith, a graduate of the Bartlett and Phil Coffey, a graduate of the ‘Mac’ Glasgow will be explaining the subtleties!

Ian Ritchie Architects with Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, engineers and Allen Jones artist are one of four teams selected to proceed to the first stage of the competition. Concept ideas for the 140m long bridge with a 19m long fully opening section will be submitted by 16^th October. The opening section will be designed to operate up to 3,000 times a year and to be operational in winds up to 70mph.

The successful contractors for the Spire of Dublin in O’Connell Street are SIAC and Radley Engineering. Both are Irish companies, and were successful against strong tender submissions from companies and other joint ventures in mainland Europe and the UK. SIAC is managing the joint venture and undertaking the site groundworks and services installations. Radley Engineering based in Dungarven, Co. Waterford in Southern Ireland, promotes itself as Ireland’s foremost engineering company specialising in quality stainless steel fabrications including pressure vessels, reactors, heat exchangers, and storage tanks in a variety of materials including titanium and 316L stainless steel. 316L is the specified alloy for the Spire. The stainless steel plate in thicknesses from 10 to 35mm is being produced and polished in France, rolled in Scotland, and all the workshop fabrication of the Spire carried out by Radley.

The first ‘fougère’ pylons designed by Ian Ritchie Architects with RFR and Kathryn Gustafson, have been erected by Electricité de France, (RTE - Réseau Transmission Electricité), either side of the Rhone as part of the new Tricastin - Tavel 400kV high voltage line. The installation includes one pair of ‘S’ type and one pair of ‘N’ type. The pylons have been painted in contrasting blue and yellow as they lie within a military flight path along the Rhone valley. The painted design resulted from a competition among French art students in 2001.

Following presentations from Richard Rogers Partneship, Pringle Richards & Sharratt and Denton Corker Marshall, the jury has made its recommendation to the Lord Chancellor. A formal announcement is anticipated at the end of July. The jury was chaired by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling - Rector & Vice-Provost of the Royal College of Art, and the following members: Sir Hayden Phillips - Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor Mr. Justice Penry Davey - Senior Presiding Judge, Northern Circuit Sir Richard MacCormac - Independent Architectural Adviser Ian Ritchie - Architectural Adviser to the Lord Chancellor Christine Mayer - Circuit Administrator, Northern Circuit Dr. Alexi Marmot - CABE Enabler Councillor Richard Leese - Leader of Manchester City Council Robert Angel - Project Sponsor, The Court Service.

Ian Ritchie is giving a lecture on 14^th February at the Royal University of Fine Arts, Stockholm. He talk will focus on glass and recent developments explored by his office with new materials.

Milan City Council have confirmed that they will be dismantling Alba di Milano from Piazza Duca d’Aosta in front of Milan’s main railway station. The reason given is that they did not expect the sculpture to mask so much of the station facade. The City Council has accepted full responsibility for the competition site. A new location will be chosen following a meeting of the Monuments Commission in Milan in February 2002.