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Flyover Futures – ideas competition

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 19 MAY

An ideas competition exploring speculative alternative futures for the Gateshead flyover, with the winners displayed at the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University in May 2025. Kindly supported by the Northern Architectural Association.

In December 2024, the Gateshead flyover was suddenly closed after the discovery of structural defects that could have led to its collapse. The closure led to immediate and extensive transport disruption, with traffic diverted to surrounding roads and the Metro suspended. Strengthening work has allowed the Metro to now run safely, but with the flyover unlikely to ever re-open, the disruption looks set to continue, with significant economic effects on local shops and businesses.

This ideas competition looks to explore the possibilities for re-using, re-imagining and re-constituting the Gateshead flyover and what that could offer the city and the region: from the environmental and economic upsides, to the opportunities for supporting health, wellbeing and civic pride by creating a new green space in the heart of Gateshead. The ideas competition is speculative, using the example of Gateshead flyover to explore possibilities for reimagining redundant post-war infrastructure more broadly.

Entries will be reviewed by a panel of experts from Newcastle University who will select four winning projects, which will be displayed in a small exhibition at the Farrell Centre in May 2025.

The brief

The competition is looking for bold, original and compelling ideas for speculative new uses for the Gateshead flyover, also known as Gateshead Highway. The area of focus is the elevated section of the flyover between St Edmund’s Road to the south, and Gateshead Foodbank to the north.
Due to structural defects, the flyover is currently closed to vehicular traffic and will remain so. However, for the purposes of the ideas competition, entries should assume it is capable of safely supporting pedestrians and active transport, as well as static loads.
The competition is interested in how a structure that bisects central Gateshead, acting as a barrier in the cityscape, could become a connector; how a structure originally intended to facilitate movement, could become a destination; and how somewhere that has limited ecology at present, might become ecologically vibrant.
It is central to the ideas competition that the bulk of the structure is retained in proposals. However, the competition welcomes ideas for adapting it, opening it up and manipulating it in different ways. How and where the flyover might be accessed from is a key consideration.
The focus is the flyover itself and potentially the unused spaces underneath, rather than the surrounding area. However, the hope is that compelling ideas for reuse would help catalyse the inclusive re-development of the immediate environment.
Possible alternative uses for the flyover must be accessible to everyone and free, though proposals that offer ideas for financial (as well as ecological) sustainability are welcome.
The competition is interested in ideas that are surprising and transformative. Feasibility and pragmatic considerations are important, but proposals need not be constrained by them.
The competition is open everyone, but could include architects, designers, planners, landscape architects, students, community groups, artists and enthusiasts. Entries are especially welcomed from collaborative teams that bring together a range of disciplines and backgrounds.

The process

Submissions should be sent via email to hello@farrellcentre.org.uk Submissions should comprise a short text (max 300 words) outlining your idea, approach/ways of working and ambitions and a maximum of three images*. Submissions should also include biographies of the teams or individuals putting forward the submission (combined max of 300 words).

*Images should be in JPEG or TIFF format and suitable for printing at 300 dpi at A4 size or larger.

An expert panel will select four winning proposals which will be displayed in a small exhibition and unveiled in a celebratory event at the Farrell Centre, which is part of Newcastle University, in May 2025.

Timeline

Honorarium

The four winning teams will receive an honorarium of £250 each, kindly supported by the Northern Architectural Association.

Questions

Please email hello@farrellcentre.org.uk

Image credit: AI-generated of the Gateshead flyover reimagined as an urban park.