In April 1998 the Chinese government announced an open competition to design ‘one of the best arts palaces in the world’. The proposed development incorporated a 2200-seat opera house, a concert hall, a national theatre and mini-theatre, and a public park. The selection process consisted of five different briefs in five stages over a 16-month period. Terry Farrell & Partners reached the fifth-stage submission along with architect Paul Andreu, who emerged as the final winner.

Terry Farrell & Partners initial submission was a colourful low-rise box, organised within a nine-square grid, each section of which was dedicated to a separate but linked function. The three sections facing the main, north elevation were connected to form an entrance and foyer space. The three cultural sections, each a different colour, housed the theatre, concert hall, and opera house. The three southern sections were given over to back-of-house facilities.

The scheme went through several revisions. In the first scheme a large foyer was to be clad with screens which visualised performances happening in the main auditoria. In the second revision, a crystal wall was inserted in the north elevation of the building to provide increased permeability between the performance spaces and the street. During the third stage revision, the client wanted more references to classical Chinese traditions, and so the fly towers of the opera house and theatre were positioned beneath two saucer like roofs to provide an appearance of weightlessness. During the final submission revision phase, the site itself was moved from Tian’anmen Square to a larger but less prominent area 70 metres behind the Great Hall of the People. Along with the change of site came the removal of an earlier height restriction and less emphasis on Chinese tradition. The final submissions retained the transparency of the original concept, as well as an aspiration for the building to harmonize with the rest of the city, but was given greater solidity and a more dramatic roofline.

The Beijing railway station is a dynamic new landmark station that helped transform Beijing into the global metropolis for Olympics Games held in 2008. It is a fully integrated multi-modal transportation hub that serves as a “Gateway” to the capital and a vital link in China’s new highspeed intercity network. An oval-shaped station was designed by the British architecture firm of TFP Farrells in collaboration with the Tianjin Design Institute The design strategy also incorporates separate zones catering to different types of vehicular traffic including area for underground basement car-parking spaces, taxi drop-off bays, taxi pick-up bays with queuing spaces and bus spaces making the station as a comprehensive transport hub.

Consists of letters and proofs relating to the published poetry works of Benjamin Zephaniah.

Consists of letters and proofs relating to the published poetry works of Bernard Spencer.

Consists of letters and proofs relating to the published poetry works of Bev Braune.

Biota! was a proposed aquarium in the Silvertown Quays redevelopment, on the site of Millennium Mills adjacent to the Royal Victoria Dock. It formed part of the wider Thames Gateway regeneration project for East London. Biota! would have formed one of the main public attractions in the 60-acre (24 ha), £1.5 billion development, along with Silvertown Venture Xtreme an extreme sports and surf centre.

Biota! was to be operated by the Zoological Society of London and would have been the world's first aquarium entirely based on the principles of conservation. The design for the aquarium incorporated four biomes, each representing an entire ecosystem. The £80 million aquarium building designed by Farrells was given outline planning permission in March 2005 and was initially expected to be completed in 2008, but the project was cancelled in 2009.

Project Partners:
Client: Silvertown Quays Limited
Main Contractor: Quintain
Engineers: WS Atkins, Hoare Lea, ARUP
Architects: Patel Taylor

Brindley Place, Birmingham. Master Plan 1990.
The Crescent is one of Birmingham’s oldest theatre companies operating from a purpose-built theatre in Brindley place. It was designed by architects Terry Farrell and John Chatwin, which has a 340-seat main house and a 120-seat studio theatre, rehearsal rooms and a bar.

Farrell was responsible for the Masterplan and also designed the Crescent Theatre within the Brindley Place site, on Sheepcote Street (completed 1998 with John Chatwin).

Landowners of Railtrack PLC wanted to appoint a masterplanner/architect to develop a disused railways goods yard. It is unclear whether Terry Farrell and Partners were appointed or if the project was eventually executed.

Project Partners:
Faulkner Brown
Hoare Lea