---
title: "1894 Building Switch Room Architectural Design Phase 2"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07834e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07834e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07834e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07834e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION"
published: "2026-10-08"
---

# 1894 Building Switch Room Architectural Design Phase 2

Buyer: UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07834e

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## Summary

UK Research & Innovation commissioned architectural design services for Phase 2 of the central heating and plant building at the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill, Edinburgh. The scope is to complete the site with a single-storey building, incorporating and roofing over the Phase 1 open-air enclosure and its packaged plant units. It also covers building-services distribution routes across the site. The appointment is limited to the central plant building and its service routes; it does not cover work to the existing buildings. The requirement is architectural design for a specialist plant-building project at the Observatory, rather than a general refurbishment of the wider site.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to CB3 Design Associates Ltd. UKRI used a below-threshold limited competition. There was one lot, covering the Phase 2 architectural design appointment. The contract was signed on 1 October 2026 and runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its stated value is £56,250 excluding VAT and £67,500 including VAT. The award is recorded as active and the contract as active. The procurement data does not set out evaluation criteria, so the basis on which competing proposals were assessed cannot be described here.

This award shows that UKRI procures focused architectural design services for specialist plant infrastructure at the Royal Observatory, using limited competition for a below-threshold requirement. A credible competitor for comparable work would need architectural capability suited to designing a single-storey plant building and integrating it with an existing plant enclosure, including roofing over that structure. Experience coordinating building-services distribution routes across a site would also be relevant. Suppliers should be able to work to an established design direction and proposals, while keeping the scope focused on the central plant building and its services rather than assuming responsibility for alterations to surrounding buildings. CB3 Design Associates Ltd, the selected supplier, is an SME, demonstrating that this scale of appointment has been delivered by a small business.

## Notice

Central heating/plant building, Phase 2, at the Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh. Design and construction of the central plant building is proposed to be split into 2 phases. Phase 1 to be an open-to-air enclosure with packaged plant units as per LDN Architects 2024 proposals. Phase 2 (this Appointment) to be completion of site with single storey building as per Collective Architecture Pre-Application Planning proposals dated 26.08.26. Phase to include incorporation of, and roofing over, Phase 1 structure. This Appointment provides for the central plant building plus building services site distribution routes only; it does not include for any works to each of the existing buildings.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095005-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - limited competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £56,250 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION |
| Locality | SWINDON, WILTSHIRE |
| Postcode area | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 1FL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CB3 Design Associates Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71220000 - Architectural design services

## Release History

- 8 Oct 2026 at 08:59 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095005-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095005-2026
  8th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.ukri.org/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07834e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07834e.json.