Tintagel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
William Matthews Associates and Ney & Partners’ design for the Tintagel Castle Footbridge is based on the simple concept of recreating the link that once crossed the present void.
Located on a north Cornwall cliff top on a site that’s the legendary base of King Arthur, this new bridge is beautifully executed at all scales, from the way it respects the silhouette of the landforms it abuts, down to the tactile detail of its path, made from slate laid on edge.
Retracing the approximate width and length of the natural land-bridge and castle structures that have long since fallen into the water, the bridge notionally links past with present and physically connects two stranded sections of the castle precinct, which dates from the 13th century.
With its highly ceremonial presence, articulated in every piece of finely crafted stainless steel, it also allows contemporary visitors to retrace the steps of predecessors who would have passed through this section of the castle to gain entry to the grand hall on the island side.
The new bridge enhances the visitor experience, enabling more people to discover the site and facilitate its understanding.
The designers proposed two independent cantilevers that reach out and almost touch in the middle.
Visually the link highlights the void through the absence of material in the middle of the crossing.
The structure, 4.5m high where it springs from the rock face, tapers to a thickness of 170mm in the centre, with a clear joint between the mainland and island halves.
The narrow gap between them represents the transition between the mainland and the island, the present and the past, the known and the unknown, reality and legend; all the things that make Tintagel so special and fascinating.
Technical achievement and degree of difficulty metrics are high in this project, where construction logistics and material specification have all been expertly handled.
It also sets the bar very high above the potentially choppy waters of the competitions and commissioning process, standing out as an exemplar of how projects should be run, having been taken from concept to delivery without dither or delay.
The bridge’s materials are simple, durable and suited to the context of the site: painted steel, stainless Duplex steel, and local slate.
Project: Tintagel Castle Footbridge
Architects: William Matthews Associates and Ney & Partners
Engineers: Ney & Partners
