JUN201891: Design of Abergavenny Castle Events Structure

Publication date:

08 June 2017

Deadline date:

14 July 2017 00:00

Notice type:

Contract Notice

Authority name:

Monmouthshire County Council

OCT219172: Design of Abergavenny Castle Events Structure

Publication date:

19 October 2017

Notice type:

Contract Award Notice

Authority name:

Monmouthshire County Council

ADDED FILE: Map Showing intended area for structure

Map Showing intended area for structure

ADDED FILE: Photo 1

One of three photos showing proposed area for structure

ADDED FILE: Photo 2

One of three photos showing proposed area for structure

ADDED FILE: Photo 3

One of three photos showing proposed area for structure

ADDED FILE: Notes relating to map and photos

Notes relating to map and photos

ADDED FILE: General view of proposed area

General view of proposed area

Question Received

Question
We were under the impression that this is a design competition but now see that there is no requirement for design proposals in the tender. Would it be acceptable for us to illustrate a design proposal for the quality element of the tender?

Also we do not have prior experience working on sites of Ancient Scheduled Monuments.

Answer
You are correct that we do not require a finished design at this stage. But we need to know that the successful tender will provide us with a design we are happy with. To do this we are asking for evidence of similar work you have done previously and as part of this we would expect to see examples of your work. We would then work with the successful tender to work up a suitable design over the summer (by 1st Sept).

Also required is evidence at working at sites like ours and a clear project plan. In your case with no experience of working at sites like ours you would obviously score lower in that section but may well score more highly in other sections.

You will see that price forms a high % of the criteria. This is for the design of the structure, but also consideration needs to be given to the likely building costs of the proposed structure. It would therefore be sensible in the examples of previous designs you give they are ones that are within our project budget – outlined in the tender document.

Archaeological information

As indicated in the brief a full archaeological report will be provided when we award the tender. Meanwhile to help you with submitting your tender the following information is available, following excavation work which has just been completed:

The site lies within an area of potential significant archaeological remains, associated with the medieval castle and its later use as well as a Roman fort which lay adjacent to the site.

The design should seek to minimise below ground impact on these potential archaeological deposits with foundations (and services if required) designed to avoid or reduce intrusions below ground level to a minimum; there will also be need to allow a buffer zone above any archaeological levels for any slab or raft constructed.

The issue of the setting of the Scheduled Monument of the castle will also be a major issue in locating and designing the structure.

Questions received - 5/7/2017

1. We are not quite clear about the deliverables for this stage: when the spec says you require a developed design in section 3, does that mean you require a developed design of the actual events structure with our submission at this stage?
ANSWER - Once we have appointed the company to carry out the design work we require them to put together a developed design that would be suitable to form the basis of a planning application. We appreciate that to ask companies to provide a finished design at the tender stage is unreasonable and without full knowledge of the site, including its setting and archaeological information would be near impossible. However, when appointing, in addition to being confident of suitable experience we want to know that we are selecting a company who are able to provide a design suitable for the site. To help us ascertain this we have asked that applications should include example drawings of similar previous projects to enable us to get a sense of the type of work they do. You will also see that we have given the total budget for the entire project, so with this in mind we would expect at tender stage you to have an idea of the type of design you might put forward if you are successful, to ensure that at the inception meeting we do not end up discussing a design which would cost more to build than our budget. It would be at the inception meeting and subsequent meetings we would together develop and refine the design. You are, if you wish, welcome to provide simple drawings of what you envisage for this project as part of the tender.

2. Is there a limit on the number of pages that can be submitted? Is there a preferred format?
ANSWER - There is no limit on the number of pages or preferred format, please ensure it is all relevant and includes all the information we ask for.

3. Will a number of teams be short-listed or just one be appointed after this stage?
ANSWER If there is a clear preferred company agreed on by the shortlisting team then we will appoint at this stage. However if there is some uncertainty between the top two or three and we want to conduct an interview for clarification purposes then we have pencilled in either the 20th or 21st July as suitable dates to conduct the interview. (With the 21st as the preferred date for us).