Everton bring in new British architects for stadium project

Eagle-eyed Everton fans who have been watching the Twitter feed of architect Dan Meis noticed a few days ago that he had left a cryptic tweet on his timeline, and had even changed the header image on his account from the concept designs of the new Bramley-Moore stadium to his house in the US.

If I learned anything from this year it is that when someone says “it isn’t personal, it is just business” I probably shouldn’t have been in business with them to begin with....

Quite a few supporters have been badgering him about it and today he took to Twitter about what has happened, and my friends, this does not sound good.

Let me be clear. I am fully confident that Bramley Moore will be built. It is both right for the Club and the city. Unfortunately I am not currently engaged in the project. How that was handled is one the greatest disappointments of my career, and at the appropriate...
2/2...time I will comment. For now please understand that this is my personal twitter account and believe it or not, not everything I write is a reference to Everton. I love this club and have loved the interaction.

This is a stunning development just as everything seemed to be progressing in a sound and logical manner towards a planning application submission and approval in the next couple of months.

Undoubtedly this will give rise to all sorts of speculation around the future of Everton’s new stadium, and what might have transpired between the club and the highly personable architect who has engaged with the supporters and residents of Merseyside at all levels until this point.

It’s only fair to respect the architect’s privacy and let him and the club announce what is happening through official channels, for now.

UPDATE: Per the Liverpool Echo, British firm Pattern Design have been brought in to handle the construction phase of the stadium due to their familiarity with local regulations. Pattern who are based in London, Edinburgh and Lima, announced on their website that they are the new ‘Technical Architect’ on the project.

UPDATE: It appears Dan Meis was given a chance to bid for Technical Architect by construction firm Laing O’Rourke, but wasn’t awarded the contract. Is that the bad faith that Meis seems to be inferring to? See Alan Myers’ tweets below.

Alan Myers on Twitter

Meis’ next tweet cleared that right up -

Dan Meis on Twitter

It’s looking like Everton and Laing O’Rourke decided they needed to bid out the Technical Architect role, and Meis was never informed of the change.