Outline brief

Allegra’s Ambition in memory of Allegra, who was a keen sports person, will be commissioning a new piece of art. The charity is arranging a public art competition and artists are invited to submit designs for a new sculpture and integrated seating to be sited at the new Winchester Sports Centre at Bar End.  The sports centre is a major new addition to Winchester and will contribute to the health and well-being of local people. 

 

The new sculpture will act as a place for people to gather, sit and play adjacent to the playing fields and a new outdoor gym area. It will be an area that welcomes people of all age groups to enjoy the space safely. It will be a combination of sculpture and seating – these could be separate elements that link together, or the sculpture could become the seating itself. 

 

The piece will need to reflect the ideals of Allegra’s Ambition and could incorporate the logo as part of the shape, theme or colour.  

 

It will need to be robust, safe and potentially cope with people sitting, standing and walking over it. The maximum surface area the installation should take up is approximately 5 mtrs in diameter. 

There is the potential for the sculpture to incorporate subtle, low-level lighting, but this would need to be powered through photovoltaic cells as there is no mains power to the site. Any lighting would be subject to agreement with the City Council. Ambient light is provided by adjacent car park lighting - see images on the project website: www.spud.org.uk/allegrasambition

 

The location of the site is shown on the following pages. It can be publicly accessed at all times. Currently the site is an evolving landscape and will include a series of low-level grass bunds/banks that will create a sense of place and enclosure. These low banks will incorporate additional seating, possibly in the form of wooden sleepers. There is also scope for further seating along the top of the banks that can reflect the design of the central sculpture. Embankment C on the plan could be extended to form part of the sculptural form. 

 

The area adjacent to the sculpture will be home to new outdoor gym equipment that will have an emphasis on calisthenics style training (a form of strength training through movement), that also has parallels with Parkour.  Therefore, this should be considered as part of any proposal and the potential for the design to be sympathetic and reflective of this additional element. Proposals will need to demonstrate that they will be able to adapt flexibly to this evolving landscape and project.

​

Selection:

Submitted proposals will be displayed locally and the public will be invited to comment on the designs.  Following public responses a final shortlist will be drawn up and successful applicants will be invited to attend an interview panel. Propasals will be assessed against how they have answered the brief, overall aesthetics, safety, maintenance and budget.

​

Budget

A total fee of £50,000 -  is available for this commission.  This fee will need to cover all materials, professional time and installation of the final piece(s).  

 

The fee can combine the central sculpture and the potential addition of surrounding complimentary seating on the embankments. 

 

The selected artist(s) will be responsible for any additional engineering and health and safety costs that are required as part of the delivery of the commission. Allowance for this should be factored into the budget as appropriate.

​

Site Plan