6
NEWS ADAPTIVE REUSE
Scott Brownrigg concept reuses Rhondda rail tunnel as art gallery
Scott Brownrigg have revealed concept plans to repurpose the longest rail tunnel in Wales into a “digital art gallery” and performance space which celebrates the heritage and culture of the Welsh valleys. The concept design, created with tourism consultant Steven & Associates, also aspires to “reconnect communities” at either end of the tunnel. This “unique visitor destination will breathe life back into the abandoned 130-year-old Rhondda Tunnel, helping to enhance Wales’ place on the map for global tourism,” said the architects. A new hotel, located on the outskirts of the village of Blaencwm at the eastern entrance of the tunnel, is also being designed to provide guests with a “unique experience of the Welsh valleys.” The western entrance – which is in the village of Blaengwynfi – will become a visitor centre with art galleries, cafe, external performance space and digital theatre. An exoskeleton of “digitally constructed” timber ribs has been designed to change across the length of the building, thereby “alluding to the movement of a train as it disappears into the tunnel.” Referencing local rail heritage, the galleries – which sit above the steeply
sloping tunnel entrance on top of slender stilts – are designed to resemble a lump of coal, with scorched black timber cladding. Following structural repair and restoration, the nearly two mile long tunnel itself will be transformed into a public pedestrian and cycle route, as well as digital art gallery and performance space,
with a viewing tower above.
The scheme will be designed to achieve “BREEAM Excellent “or equivalent,” said the architects, with opportunities explored for use of geothermal energy sources, and is reported to contain the potential to contribute more than £16m to the local economy per year.
ACA launches a simpler appointments document CONTRACTS
The Association of Consultant Architects has launched a revised digital-only Professional Services Agreement with the aim to provide a simplifi ed document to reduce barriers for architects and clients during the appointment process. The PSA22 document has been created to incorporate changes in practice and legislation, such as CDM, the Building Safety Act, and the ‘Golden Thread’ as part of the association’s regular review of its Standard Form of Appointment (SFA). Association
president Andrew Catto commented: “We recognised that most smaller and domestic projects are often essentially the same, and needed a simpler, shorter form aimed to make completing it less of a barrier for architects and their clients.” The new document was developed from the ACA’s original Standard Form – which was launched in 2008 in response to a “dangerous revision to the most widely used form,” said Catto. Standard documents available at the time were “often unwieldy and diffi cult to fi ll in,” he said.
Catto added: “It is rightly a requirement of the ARB code, and probably of your insurers’ too, that your terms should be in writing.” Founded in 1973, the Association of Consultant Architects (ACA) is the national professional body representing architects in private practice in the UK. It lobbies Government and provides an “independent voice for, and support to, architectural practices that promotes and enables high standards in practice.” For further information visit their website at
www.acarchitects.co.uk
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF AUGUST 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
