HS2 viaduct wins prestigious national Beauty Award

We are delighted that the Colne Valley Viaduct has been recognised by the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust in the 2024 Building Beauty Awards. The 3.4km viaduct, a key part of HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd and now Britain's longest railway bridge, was the Engineering Award winner and is one of four projects vying for the title of Grand Winner.

Working closely with the HS2 Engineering Design Partner (Atkins Jacobs Sener), we developed the specimen design for HS2, defining the key design principles of this significant Phase 1 engineering feature. Our work resulted in an elegant design concept that addressed the different qualities of the sensitive site, from publicly-accessible open water to dense woodland, helping to unite multiple stakeholders through a complex planning process. It's especially rewarding to therefore hear the judging panel describe the structure as "breathtaking" and which "...treads lightly, skimming over the water".

Congratulations to HS2 Ltd, Align JV and their designers Rendel and Grimshaw for fantastic work in reaching the structural completion milestone last month.

Related project: High Speed Two (HS2) Phase 1 EDP Colne Valley Viaduct Specimen Design