Our client’s brief was to redesign a footbridge on an incredibly sensitive site in Cornwall. The site was inaccessible and also was a registered ancient monument, an area of outstanding natural beauty and of particular scientific interest.

Material use and performance were the key drivers of innovation. Their client wanted a very durable structure that would be useful for a significant period of over 100 years, which needed to be demonstrated and could be extended easily.

Generally, clients don’t value longevity as they replace or sell sites prior to achieving maximum usage, however, in this case the emphasis was on low to zero maintenance costs with more scope for upfront spending.

Our client furthered knowledge in the sector in the following key areas:

• Analysis of materials including periods of testing to create a bridge that required no maintenance for a 100-year period, which was a UK first
• Developing a solution that drastically reduced corrosion within the bridge itself
• Designing around the use of a material delivery system that had not been used in the UK before

We worked with the client to assess these areas against both their industry knowledge and our own extensive client base and it became clear that this project represented something very unique within architecture.

We were able to successfully submit this claim for R&D tax relief and helped our client secure a substantial refund.