The underpass connects the BNU Campus to High Wycombe town centre with significant pedestrian traffic for the campus and the community.  We worked in partnership with BNU leadership and the urban design team and planners from Buckinghamshire Council, with a common purpose to provide a safe, inclusive and attractive connection.  Due to the positioning of the project beneath a dual carriageway, our proposal was developed sensitively with regards to Highways compliance.

Reclaimed timber is proposed to clad the vertical surfaces in the underpass, whilst remaining independent of existing structure. This material choice was made due to its natural appearance, warm aesthetic and durability with low maintenance. The timber also creates a visual continuity with the Concourse and Gateway Garden installations and complements recent townscape initiatives in wider High Wycombe.  

Within the design, there are discrete variations in depth of the timber slats, forming shallow alcoves in which passers-by are encouraged to take a perch and watch visual material, produced by students within the creative industries department of the university, which will be displayed on dynamic screens on the opposite wall.