National Highways has launched a design competition for what is says would be an “aesthetic enhancement” of highway gantries for English motorways and main roads.
The agency is looking for a “more streamlined, elegant and consistent visual appearance for roadside gantries to enhance the public’s experience when driving on the National Highways network”.
Existing designs tend to emphasis function over form which “can result in visually intrusive structures that are not overly sympathetic to their settings”.
National Highways wants the new design to “work sympathetically in roadside environments, whether they form part of a landscape that is urban, residential or an area of natural beauty”.
This is a single stage competition with a separate follow-up phase, working with separately appointed structural engineers to develop new standardised design solutions.
The competition, done with RIBA – the UK’s Royal Institute of British Architects – is open to architects and architect-led teams.
The winning design is expected to be the standard design for new roads and major upgrades from around 2025. Competition details can be found at www.ribacompetitions.com/gantries.
Deadline for submissions is noon on 24th January 2023.
National Highways is a UK government-owned body responsible for operating,maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major A-roads. This Strategic Road Network covers over 7,000km of road and associated roadside infrastructure.
