TINTAGEL CASTLE: BRIDGE DESIGN COMPETITION EXPRESSION of INTEREST Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One
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TINTAGEL CASTLE: BRIDGE DESIGN COMPETITION EXPRESSION OF INTEREST Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One © Malcolm Reading Consultants 2015 Malcolm Reading Consultants is an expert consultancy which specialises in managing design competitions to international standards and providing independent, strategic advice to clients with capital projects. With nearly twenty years’ experience of projects, we are enthusiastic advocates of the power of design to create new perceptions and act as an inspiration. Images: © Malcolm Reading Consultants / Emily Whitfield-Wicks unless otherwise stated Map: © English Heritage malcolmreading.co.uk 2 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One CONTENTS PART ONE Project Vision 7 English Heritage 10 Cornish Identity 12 Site and Context: Tintagel Island 15 Historical Significance 18 Literary and Cultural Significance 23 Parallel Initiatives 24 The Competition Site 24 Visitors to Tintagel Castle 26 The New Bridge – Emerging Brief 28 Key Objectives 30 Project Details: Teams 31 Anticipated Key Dates 33 Budget 33 Jury 34 PART TWO Competition Details 42 Anticipated Competition Programme 46 Submission Requirements 47 Evaluation Criteria 50 Appendices 53 3 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 4 Part One Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 6 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One PROJECT VISION Tintagel Castle’s thirteenth-century ruins, balanced on sea-bitten precipices, distinguish one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain. A place of elemental power and beauty, Tintagel has been prized throughout history for its ability to set the imagination racing and invigorate the senses. The Island’s Dark-Age connections with the Byzantine world prompt myriad, fascinating questions. As a literary setting, Tintagel appears and reappears in the western canon, linked not only to the legendary King Arthur and the story of Tristan and Yseult, but in recent history inspiring both Tennyson and Hardy. Its cultural legacy dates back more than a thousand years to earlier Cornish legends and tantalizingly suggests that folk memories of an earlier, illustrious epoch may have survived – if the historical record did not. Even to call it Island is to succumb to its romance. More accurately, it is a headland attached to a peninsula. But somehow, Tintagel creates a charmed atmosphere. Though it’s not physically distant, it creates the impression of being removed. Though it adapts to the age, it allows us to suspend time. The defining feature of Tintagel for much of its history was its natural land-bridge, a slender isthmus, linking the headland to the mainland. The Cornish name Din Tagell means literally, the Fortress of the Narrow Entrance. This physical connection – a tenuous rocky link much eroded over the centuries – is the source of its traditions and astonishing cultural resonance. 7 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One Through the Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition, English Heritage, the guardian of this scheduled ancient monument, is now searching for a dedicated and talented architectural and engineering team to design a cliff-top footbridge. The new structure aims to trace the path, now lost through collapse and erosion, of the original land-link, creating a twenty-first century connection. Twenty-eight metres higher than the current crossing, 72 metres in span and roughly 2.4 metres wide (allowing safe foot traffic in both directions), the bridge will transform the visitor experience, opening up exhilarating views of the Island, coastline and Atlantic seascape. It will also create a direct route to the Island, relinking the castle with its original entrance. More than just a practical passage, the bridge should exemplify design at its most assured. English Heritage envisages an elegant, even structurally daring, concept, both beautiful in its own right and sensitively balanced with the landscape and exceptional surroundings – the site lying within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Certainly, a new bridge is needed. The existing approach is perceived by some non-visitors as demanding and although many visitors enjoy the experience some can find it a challenge. The current single track pathway is narrow, and on peak days can get congested and cause queues on and off the Island. This single point of entry is also leading to wear and tear on some parts of the path, and encourages a circulation route that results in many visitors bypassing the castle’s outer ward and gateway, thereby remaining unaware of this important section of the monument. 8 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One Alongside the bridge project, English Heritage is also in the process of implementing a number of other initiatives at Tintagel Castle: refurbishing the visitor centre, and introducing new interpretative materials. The Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition is a two-stage procedure. Initially, Expressions of Interest are sought, following which a shortlist of approximately six design teams will be drawn up: from these the winner will be selected. At the first stage we are not seeking a design but please note that teams who progress will need to conceptualise a design at the second stage which incorporates a construction methodology. This is essential given this challenging (and at times extreme) environment, the necessity to keep the site closed for as short a period as practical, and access constraints. As a progressive patron, English Heritage encourages teams which balance seasoned experience with emerging talent. To convince the competition Jury, the winning team will need to show outstanding design skills and a profound understanding of the multi-faceted significance of the site — its environmental, historic and cultural importance. 9 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One ENGLISH HERITAGE English Heritage cares for over 400 historic monuments, buildings and sites – from world famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, from Roman forts on the edges of empire to Cold War bunkers. Through these, it brings the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year. The work of English Heritage is characterised by enduring values of authenticity, quality, imagination, responsibility and fun, all underpinned by scholarly research. Its vision is to make history live and breathe and to take people back in time to experience those great moments in history, in the places where they actually happened. With English Heritage’s new freedom as a charity, its ability to engage with millions of people is now greatly strengthened. A major programme of investment in its properties is under way and a priority is to deliver inspirational projects of the highest quality that capture the public’s imagination. English Heritage is licensed to manage the National Heritage by the Historic Monuments & Buildings Commission for England. It is a charity (no. 1140351) and a company (no.07447221), registered in England. 10 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 11 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One CORNISH IDENTITY English Heritage looks after 17 historic sites in Cornwall and is committed to presenting the Cornish language, history and culture at those sites, including Tintagel Castle. It liaises with Cornish-interest groups, some of its signs and leaflets feature the Cornish language, and it aims to translate more and more information and on-site interpretation. It is exploring how Cornish history and the Cornish language can be better incorporated into its education material and web content. 12 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 13 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 14 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One SITE & CONTEXT TINTAGEL ISLAND Tintagel Island is situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall at 50.66706 degrees North and 4.75936 degrees West. It lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it the same protection as a National Park. Tintagel is also a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive, which protects habitat types of European importance. Tintagel is listed for its vegetated sea cliffs, European dry heaths and old sessile oak woods. Additionally, the site falls within an Area of Great Historic Value as designated within the Cornwall Council Structure Plan. Two public rights-of-way cross parts of the site: the North Cornwall Coast Path, and the track that leads from Tintagel village to Tintagel Haven. The remains of Tintagel Castle and the Island are protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the terms of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. In addition, this lies within the Tintagel Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated by Natural England. The site at Tintagel is dominated by its natural topography, particularly the eroded neck of land dividing the Island from the mainland. The castle lies on both sides of the chasm, or zawn. Centuries of erosion have taken many parts of the castle and earlier buildings with them. The site at Tintagel also contains a shop, exhibition and a café, while Tintagel Beach leads to the atmospheric Merlin’s Cave. 15 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 16 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design Competition // EOI // Part One 17 Tintagel Castle: Bridge Design