Bath & North East Somerset Council

Background

With significant expansion occurring as a result of the development of the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Area, comprising 98 hectares of land on both sides of the River Avon, the Council recognised the need to connect Bath Quays North and South thus improving linkages between the riverside and Bath city centre. A new pedestrian and cycle bridge is to provide a new crossing point over the River Avon.

Opportunity

The Council decided to hold an international competition to identify a winning architect and consortium partners to deliver the new Bath Quays bridge. I was invited to support the Council in developing the detailed jury process (which I also moderated) to be held over a period of some months. The Council needed to adopt international best practice on the running of a competition procurement to ensure positive outcomes in line with the city’s values, the unique qualities of the place and the city’s status as World Heritage Site.

Outcome

Six submissions were shortlisted from a total entry of forty-nine. Public consultation involved exhibiting the full shortlist at the Council’s One Stop Shop in addition to the public being invited to vote online for their favourite. Having evaluated the shortlisted designs, the panel selected Paris-based architectural and engineering consultancy Marc Mimram’s ‘Between History and Modernity‘ as the winning design. The winning design was also the public’s favourite.