Tintagel Castle Footbridge wins Building Beauty Awards, the richest prize in UK architecture

Tintagel Castle Footbridge wins Building Beauty Awards, the richest prize in UK architecture

Last night, the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust unveiled the winners of its 2022 Building Beauty Awards at a glittering ceremony at Bloomberg European Headquarters in the City of London, with prizes presented by Lord Foster of Thames Bank O.M. The awards, sponsored by Ballymore, celebrate buildings, engineering structures and urban landscaping schemes that add beauty to Britain’s built environment. The judging panel was led by Stephen Bayley Hon FRIBA, Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust and one of Britain’s foremost design critics.

Overall Winner & Engineering Winner

The overall winner, chosen from the four category winners, was Tintagel Castle Footbridge in Cornwall, which received a £10,000 cash prize, and will now represent the UK in the race to be crowned the world’s most beautiful new building at the World Architecture Festival in Lisbon on 02 December. The Tintagel Castle Footbridge was also the winner of the Engineering category, beating Leeds Footbridge to the prize. The 225ft-span steel bridge, designed by Ney & Partners and William Matthews Associates for English Heritage, provides level access to Tintagel Castle and comprises two cantilevers with a gap in the middle to allow for expansion.

“This was a challenging assignment, given the terrain and the sensitivity of the site as both an ancient monument and a place of natural beauty. How best to complement the dramatic context? The answer is not timidity but the kind of boldness that suits the rough and raw Atlantic coast of Cornwall.” commented the judging panel, chaired by Stephen Bayley, “The designers, necessarily, have understood every inch of their canvas and from an intellectual response to the engineering requirements have generated something graceful, perfectly poised, restrained: nothing here is unnecessary but what is necessary has been finessed to the point of beauty.”

Kate Mavor, English Heritage’s Chief Executive, said: “English Heritage’s purpose is to care for great historic sites like Tintagel Castle and to inspire people to visit them. Our bridge does both. Quite simply, this wonderful crossing encapsulates our ambitions as a charity to bring history to life in imaginative ways.

“We are delighted that the judges recognised the brilliant work by Ney & Partners and William Matthews Associates. We’d also like to thank The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust for their generous donation, without which we could not have reunited Tintagel Castle.”

Building Winner

McGrath Road in Stratford, London, designed by Peter Barber Architects, came out on top in the Building category, beating two Manchester buildings, the Oglesby Centre and the Welcome Building at RHS Garden Bridgewater. to the title. This high density, shared-ownership housing development sits around a central courtyard in a reinterpretation of Victorian back-to-back housing typology, creating a beautiful space that stands out from its surroundings.

“Peter Barber is one of the most innovative and exciting social housing architects, creating developments with marked visual and kerb appeal”, said the judges, “High-quality materials, provision of communal space and a robust, muscular aesthetic – all evident at McGrath Road – generate pride and a sense of ownership in residents (as was clear when we visited) and act as a beacon locally, giving a lift and a sense of civility to a neighbourhood that suffers the usual inner-city problems of crime and anti-social behaviour.”

Public Space Winner

The winner of the Public Space category was Illuminated River in London, a lighting project by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Leo Villareal Studio for the Illuminated River Foundation, beating Borough Yards and Walala Parade to the crown. This eye-catching art installation stretches 3.2 miles across nine Thames bridges in central London, with LED light sources being controlled by custom software to avoid patterns being repeated.

“Until recently – until this project, more precisely – the Thames in central London was a black ribbon with precious little night-time personality, its darkness punctuated every so often by more or less random floodlighting. No more.” commented the judges, “This art installation, covering three miles of the serpentine river, acts as a permanent yet ever-mutating light festival: the lighting on each bridge changes to a timed sequence but also with the tide and the river’s moods – the reflections on the water mean that this is a light show on the river itself as much as on the static mass of the bridges.”

Little Gem Winner

The “Little Gem” title went to the Tower of Light and Wall of Energy in Manchester, designed by Tonkin Liu Architects for Manchester City Council and Vital Energi. This impressive structure comprises a tower, clad in laser-cut steel sheets in a shell-lace structure, and a street wall clad in ceramic tiles in a tessellated lozenge pattern, housing flues for a low-carbon energy centre within the tower. This Little Gem saw off competition from two Folkestone buildings (69 Old High Street and The Cabins, Tontine Street by Neat Architects), and two East London projects (a floating church by Denizen Works and a house in Leyton by McMahon Achitecture).

The judges were impressed with its aesthetic appeal and durability, commenting, “Projects of this sort can be stage-set flimsy, the visual appeal fading from the moment the cheap materials collide with the messy reality of city living. But these structures are convincing and solid, beautifully made in durable materials: one feels their aesthetic appeal will grow rather than ebb with time. In daylight the ceramic tiles give the wall a strong personality. Clever lighting gives the tower an equally powerful presence at night, when the perforations in the envelope mutate into compelling patterns and the surface reflects the headlights of passing cars.”

Leicester TV

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Housing shortfall calls for public-private collaboration

Housing shortfall calls for public-private collaboration

Seven ways to decorate your home when renting

Seven ways to decorate your home when renting

65% of Brits are concerned about marine life

65% of Brits are concerned about marine life

Muntada Aid – Landmark 50th Mission to Take Place in Tunisia this September as Little Hearts nears 3,000 Lifesaving Operations

Muntada Aid – Landmark 50th Mission to Take Place in Tunisia this September as Little Hearts nears 3,000 Lifesaving Operations