Conditions of participation

The Design Contest sponsor and contracting authority is National Highways. RIBA Competitions are assisting National Highways with the management and administration of the Design Contest. RIBA Competitions’ involvement will cease upon identification of a Winner, who it is anticipated will be invited to enter into a Service Contract with National Highways.

Candidates may only submit an entry to the Design Contest if they are officially registered through RIBA Competitions and in possession of a Unique Registration Number [URN], available by completing the request form.

Registered Candidates will be issued with the following information within one working day of submitting the on-line request form:

• The URN (G#) to be used on each element of the submission to maintain anonymity
• Editable version of declaration of authorship form

On-line registrations will close at 17.00hrs (GMT) on Thursday 19 January 2023.

10.1 Enquiries

Representatives from National Highways, the RIBA Architect Adviser, or any other members of the Judging Panel (see Section 18) should not be solicited for information, as this may lead to disqualification from the process. All queries relating to the competition should be directed to: riba.competitions@riba.org. Candidates should refer to Section 13 for the means and deadline for raising formal clarification queries.

10.2 Use of RIBA Competitions’ digital portal system [RIBASubmit]

All future correspondence, including Clarification Memorandums and a unique link to RIBA Competitions’ digital portal [RIBA Submit] will be sent to the e-mail address (designated single point of contact) entered at the time of the on-line registration.

A Candidate’s designated single point of contact will receive an e-mail notification from info@ribasubmit.com when new material is available to download from RIBASubmit. It is each Candidate’s responsibility to check regularly for all such notifications, including any quarantined mail folders.

The RIBASubmit portal will also be used for receipt and submission of the Competition deliverables, with a unique link for this purpose e-mailed to Candidates’ designated contacts from info@ribasubmit.com. For further information regarding anonymity, submission requirements and the deadline for receipt of entries please refer to Section 14 through to Section 17.

10.3 Candidate’s Single Point of Contact

Each Candidate is required to declare and maintain a single and continuous point of contact in their organisation for throughout the duration of the Design Contest.

Each Candidate is responsible for ensuring that RIBA Competitions are made aware of any changes to the single point of contact details (via e-mail to riba.competitions@riba.org) as soon as they become known.

RIBA Competitions shall not be responsible for contacting Candidates through any route other than via e-mail to the nominated contact and from the RIBA Submit system.

The competition is being organised in accordance with the Rules and will be held over a single phase. This will involve the anonymous appraisal of design concept proposals submitted in response to the design challenge, constraints, opportunities and requirements outlined within the Competition Brief, leading to the identification of a Winner.

The competition is open to architect-led teams based within the United Kingdom and Europe. Such organisations must include a registered Architect who has the right to practise in the country where they are qualified, or in the country where they currently reside or practise. UK-based Candidates should therefore be registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) with European-based Candidates registered with an equivalent regulatory authority. Collaboration with specialists from other disciplines (e.g., structural engineers, wayfinding, graphic design, product design etc.) is welcomed at the competition stage. Post-competition, the Winner will be appointed to join a project team to be-led by a supplier from an existing National Highways’ framework. This supplier will provide structural and civil engineering input to the project and be responsible for ensuring satisfaction of National Highways’ requirements within the regulated, safety-critical, highways environment.

The following parties shall be excluded from participating in the Design Contest and may not compete or assist a Competitor in any way:

• Members of the Judging Panel, anyone employed by the Sponsor, their Advisers, or any third party who is connected-to or supporting the selection process
• Anyone who is closely related or has any dependence, or close professional relationship to a member of the Judging Panel, their Advisers, or third party connected to or supporting the selection process
• Framework supplier organisations who might wish to be considered for appointment as the structural engineers in the follow-on phase.

The anticipated competition programme, which may be subject to variation, is as follows:

The above programme is indicative only and National Highways reserves the right to amend the programme or extend any period at its discretion. Registered Candidates will be notified by RIBA Competitions of any changes made to the timetable.

Questions relating to the Competition Brief and/or Conditions of Participation should be submitted to RIBA Competitions before close of business on Friday 16 December 2022 (17.00hrs GMT) referencing National Highways Gantries Competition in the Subject header line, with the body of the text clearly identifying to which section of the Competition Brief or Conditions of Participation the question relates.

In the interest of maintaining transparency and fairness in the procedure, the intention will be to make the advice and responses arising from all queries received (other than, where doing so, would constitute a breach of confidentiality) available to all Candidates. An explanatory Clarification Memorandum will be circulated to all registered Candidates on or after 10 January 2023. The Clarification Memorandum will form an addendum to the Competition Brief. Oral questions will not be accepted.

Submissions to the Design Contest will be judged anonymously, via use of the Unique Registration Number [G#] and Declaration of Authorship form issued at the time of registration. The URN should be prominently displayed on each element of the design submission and in the digital file names, as per the submission requirements set out in Section 16 of these Conditions of Participation.

Any submission that has identifying marks [including logos, text, insignia, or images that could be used to identify the submission’s authors] will be automatically disqualified.

The submission must be accompanied by the Declaration of Authorship form which should be duly completed with the URN entered in the box provided. Each Competitor must be able to satisfy the Judging Panel that the submitted design is an original piece of work (prepared for the express purposes of the Design Contest), and that they are the bona fide author of the design proposals submitted. Accordingly, the submitted design must not contain any third-party materials and/or content that the Competitor does not have permission to use.

Submission of the duly completed Declaration of Authorship form warrants ownership of the Intellectual Property Rights in respect of the design as its author. It should similarly be warranted that where other persons have assisted in preparing the design, written and valid assignment of all associated Intellectual Property Rights have been received from such persons, as well as a written irrevocable waiver of statutory moral rights, to the fullest extent possible by law. Furthermore, by signing the Declaration of Authorship form, Competitors accept all conditions pertaining to the competition and agree to abide by the decision of the Judging Panel. The practice name, company details or individuals stated on the Declaration of Authorship form will be used in all press releases so please ensure the accuracy of the information provided.

An on-line gallery resource of publicity images may potentially be uploaded to the Design Contest web site on conclusion of the Design Contest and identification of the Winner. Any Competitor who does not wish to be identified as the author of a scheme on any future web gallery should indicate accordingly on the submitted Declaration of Authorship form.

Submissions shall be excluded from the Design Contest:

• If a Competitor shall disclose his or her identity, or improperly attempts to influence the decision

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• If received after the latest time stated under Section 17 Submission Method

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• If, in the opinion of the Judging Panel, it does not constitute a substantive return, or fulfil the requirements of the Competition Brief

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• If any of the requirements of the Competition Brief and Conditions of Participation are disregarded.

There are three elements to the digital anonymous design submission, each of which should bear the Unique Registration Number [URN] only.

16.1 A2 Design Sheets

Competitors are required to prepare schematic proposals that outline their approach to the challenges set out in the Competition Brief.

Submissions should take the form of 2 No. A2 digital sheets, but the layout should be presented such that it can be readily viewed on-screen and also be legible when printed at A3 size. The A2 sheets should be prepared in landscape format with the Unique Registration Number prominently displayed in the top right-hand corner, together with the sheet number (1 of 2 etc.). The sheets should be illustrated in a clear and succinct manner to enable Judging Panel members to readily understand the approach and design drivers behind the proposals. The A2 sheets should include:

• Illustrations to convey the visual identity across the gantry family for both the cantilever and portal variants. The Cantilever and Super-span Cantilever Gantries should form the design focus, with at least one 3D visualisation for each, depicting the overall proposed built form and relationship to a typical carriageway configuration (as viewed on approaching the gantry from the carriageway).

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• Cross-sectional/elevational detail depicting proposed configuration and consideration of the technical constraints, particularly protected access for maintenance purposes.

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• Concept sketches or other annotated diagrams illustrating the design principles.

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• Details of proposed elevational treatments, palette of materials and finishes and how these might be used to better respond to context and setting.

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• Brief explanatory notes (max. 300 words) outlining key drivers behind the approach, the elements that would make it distinctive and how these could potentially be incorporated into a realisable set of gantry designs with a readily recognisable familial identity.

Reference should also be made to Section 5 and Section 6 of the Competition Brief for further details.

The digital A2 sheets should be presented in landscape format, as a single PDF file of <25MB. The file name should consist of the Unique Registration Number and item description, for example:

• G#_A2 sheets.pdf.

16.2 Publicity Images

Up to 3 No. images should be provided for potential future media-use purposes, which may include a future on-line gallery of all competition entries and/or a physical exhibition of selected submissions. The images should be representative of the ideas proposed and be readily identifiable as such - one of the images should be the 3D visualisation depicting the overall proposed built form. Candidates should bear in mind that plans do not necessarily reproduce well in the printed media and/or on-line. The images should not bear any annotations and be capable as functioning as stand-alone images. Each publicity image should be submitted in JPEG format, at a resolution of 72dpi, with an image width of at least 1000px. The file name should consist of the Unique Registration Number and item description, for example:

• G#_Publicity Image1_72dpi.jpg
• G#_Publicity Image2_72dpi.jpg

16.3 Declaration of Authorship Form

A PDF version of the duly completed Declaration of Authorship form (see Appendix 1), with the file name to consist of the Unique Registration Number and item description:

• G#_Declaration Form.pdf

• Deadline for Return: 12.00hrs (GMT), Tuesday 24 January 2023.

Items 16.1 to 16.3 of the submission requirements must be submitted via RIBA Competitions’ digital submission portal. All required elements of the submission must be received by the stated deadline. A unique link for this purpose will have been e-mailed to the contact address provided at the time of registration. Candidates are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the submission portal and allow sufficient time for their entry to successfully upload in its entirety prior to the submission deadline. Candidates are advised that uploading files may take time and be dependent upon a number of factors including individual document size, the number of files to be uploaded, and the speed of the Candidate’s internet connection.

The submission deadline cut-off shall be applied as per the time displayed on the web submission portal. The portal system will not allow any material to upload once the submission deadline has expired, even if Candidates are logged onto the system prior to expiry of the stated deadline. National Highways and RIBA Competitions will not be responsible for any files that are delayed, lost or otherwise damaged or corrupted during transmission, however so caused. Late submissions will not be accepted without prior authorisation.

The Judging Panel [which may be subject to change] is expected to comprise:

In the event of a Judging Panel member being unable to continue to act through illness or any other cause, National Highways, in consultation with RIBA Competitions, will reserve the right to appoint an alternative Panel member.

The Judging Panel will be provided with advisory assistance from National Highways representatives and/or other consultants employed by them. A representative from RIBA Competitions will attend the Judging Panel meeting to document the selection process and provide procedural support.

The design proposal submissions will be assessed against the following criteria and to which the indicated weightings will be applied.

The scoring approach outlined below will be used to evaluate each design submission against the evaluation criteria and identify the design proposal(s) to be awarded monies from the design prize fund.

Note: Weightings will be applied to the scores awarded by the Evaluation Panel against each criterion. The weighted overall score achieved and weighted agreed score for each scoring criteria will be released to each Competitor upon conclusion of the Design Contest. Additional feedback will only be provided upon request.

The Design Contest result will be published after notification has been given to all participating Competitors. Please note that any requests for feedback should be submitted to RIBA Competitions within one calendar month of the result being announced.

Competitors will be expected to honour a confidentiality agreement and must not release their designs for publication or identify the name of the successful or unsuccessful designers to any third parties until after an official announcement has been made and/or anonymity lifted. In this context this includes (but without limitation) radio, television, newspapers, trade and specialist press, the internet and email accessible by the public at large and the representatives of such media.

National Highways and RIBA Competitions reserve the right to publicise the Design Contest, any design submission, and the result in any way or medium they consider fit. Illustrations of any design – either separately, or together with other designs, with or without explanatory text – may be used without cost. This may include an on-line gallery of all competition entries and/or a physical exhibition of selected submissions.

Once anonymity has been lifted, authors will be credited and recognised in all associated media and publicity (unless they have specifically indicated to the contrary on their Declaration of Authorship form).

A design fund of £15,000 will be available for award at discretion of the Judging Panel. It is currently envisaged that £7,000 will be awarded to the submission judged to be the best overall response to the challenges outlined in the Competition Brief, with £5,000 and £3,000 to be awarded to the submissions attracting the second and third highest overall scores respectively. Intellectual Property Rights will remain vested with the author(s) of the work, as per the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. However, as part of the Service Contract, the Winner will be required to grant National Highways an irrevocable, non-terminable worldwide, transferable, royalty-free, exclusive license to copy, use and modify the winning design (including elements of the winning design), prepared by or on behalf of the Competitor, both with and without further input of the authors of the designs, for any purpose and shall be entitled to sub-license such rights to any third party for any such purposes.

In the event the Judging Panel considers that no one scheme meets the aspirations set for the National Highways Gantry Competition National Highways reserve the right not to award the full design fund and/or award a lesser amount(s).

The Judging Panel may also identify a series of highly commended schemes which will be acknowledged in all associated publicity but will be not attract a monetary award. Should National Highways wish to develop any of the highly commended or other schemes in the future, this would be subject to further agreement between National Highways and the relevant Competitor.

On conclusion of the Design Contest and provided there is a set of design proposals which meet the aspirations set out in the Competition Brief, it is National Highways’ intention to appoint the Winner via a Service Contract to join a project team that will be led by one of National Highways’ existing framework suppliers/providers. This framework supplier will provide structural and civil engineering input to the project and be responsible for ensuring satisfaction of National Highways’ requirements within the regulated, safety-critical, highways environment.

Design data for the project will be managed and co-ordinated using BIM. The appointed architectural firm will therefore be expected to have appropriate capability to provide constructive input to the BIM model. National Highways currently anticipates that it will want to implement BIM to Level 2.