Cast-iron drain cover competition - winners announced!
The winners of the competition have now been announced
Big congratulations to:
- Faz Barber
- Barney Ibbotson
- Olivia Clermont
- Unity Arts with Dan Birkbeck
- Eddie Campbell
Read the official announcement online, or view the designs in our flickr.com album.
The original brief for the competition
We invited Mancunians to design one of six cast-iron drain covers that’ll be installed in the new and improved Albert Square. A key part of the Our Town Hall Project (that’ll bring the Town Hall into the 21st century), the work to the square will make it one of the finest civic spaces in Europe.
In total we need six cast-iron drain covers for Albert Square. Five of them will be made using the competition's winning designs and the final design has been created by our own studio team. We asked entrants to consider:
- The unique context that they will be located, within Albert Square – the civic heart of the city and the setting for the Town Hall building.
- Opportunities for storytelling and narratives.
- The design can be abstract or figurative.
- How the design works in 3D - the use of pattern, texture and relief as part of the design.
You should also consider the practicalities, such as:
- The scale of the artwork in relation to the physical size of the final cover.
- The shape: all covers will be circular.
- The sizes: three large covers will be approx 600mm diameter. Three small covers will be approx 350mm diameter.
- The casting process and material (cast iron) that the cover will be made from - what is achievable with this material and process.
- Detailing should not be overly intricate/small scale or this may require development with the metalwork fabricator as part of the detailed design stage to ensure that the design is robust and buildable.
- The artwork must not have large blank/smooth areas that may become slippery, therefore designs must include texture across the entire surface of the cover.
- The lifting eyes and other elements in the lid that must be incorporated within the cover. This may require development with the metalwork fabricator as part of the detailed design stage.
Terms and Conditions of the competition:
- Judging will be completed by a panel including key members of the Our Town Hall Project Design Team, an elected member from Manchester City Council and the cover manufacturer.
- By submitting your design you will be accepting that you have passed over the copyright of your design to Manchester City Council, for the purposes intended only. No other work will be created from your design. We may wish to use your design for related marketing about the Our Town Hall Project.
- Nothing in this competition brief shall bind the Council to accept any of the designs submitted.
- Any costs incurred by competition entrants shall be borne by the entrants.
- We welcome entries from all born and 'adopted' Mancunians.