 These are eyecatching models of the Middlehaven masterplan, on display today at a prestigious event in Italy. The scheme is being showcased at the Venice Biennale 9th International Architecture Exhibition. Commissioned by urban regeneration company Tees Valley Regeneration, the scheme will transform Middlesbrough's 250-acre Middlehaven area. The development, which represents a combined public and private sector investment of £500m, includes offices, apartments, hotels, leisure outlets and adventure sporting attractions that will boost the local economy and create jobs. The buildings include a primary school in the shape of a giant spelling block; a Rubik's Cube cinema; a ten-storey office block nicknamed Marge Simpson's hair, apartment blocks inspired by Prada skirts, a toaster theatre and a hotel in the shape of the game Kerplunk, all set in a landscape planted in daring, coloured "stripes". This year's Venice exhibition - Metamorph explores the fundamental changes under way in contemporary architecture. A 4.5-metre-long model of the Middlehaven development is being exhibited in The Corderie in the Venice Arsenale - the venue for works that have transformed architecture since the 1970s. TVR chief executive Joe Docherty said the project was as challenging and visionary as any urban development in the world today. "This masterplan is attracting attention from around the globe. We've had inquiries from developers from as far afield as Dubai and America and it is fitting that the model will be unveiled at the prestigious Venice Biennale. Our aim is to change the narrative of the Tees Valley. "The importance of the built environment to the regeneration of a region cannot be over emphasised. We are very excited about this masterplan and believe that through bold, exciting and confident architecture we can really begin to change people's aspirations," he said. Will Alsop, head of the multi award winning Alsop Architects practice, which is behind the masterplan, said: "The Venice Biennale is a highlight in the architectural world and we are delighted to be showcasing our Middlehaven project there. "When we arrived in the Tees Valley, we knew very little about the region except that it had provided the inspiration for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner film. What we found was a brave, beautiful landscape inhabited by a series of massive objects. "Our response emerged quickly - we would create a beautiful landscape for Middlehaven - a landscape fit for the 21st century and inhabited by 21st century iconsÂ…extraordinary objects sitting proudly in a new and extraordinary landscape. The Transporter Bridge and Riverside Stadium were taken as markers of scale and grandeur, but now, next to the wide expanse of the Tees, will sit a new generation of icons." The event runs until November 7. | 
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