Bracknell

The Calibrated Ramp, a new public art work by artist Andrew Sabin, is to be launched by Bracknell Cllr Cliff Thompson, Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest.

It was commissioned by Bracknell Forest Borough Council and developers KingsOak Thames Valley to provide an important new link in the borough cycleway network, while improving access to Budham Park, Easthampstead and the town centre for residents in KingsOak’s new development at Church Hill House.

The Bracknell Calibrated Ramp brief was for a zigzag path to climb a steep bank, with strict instructions to meet all highways construction conditions. The Ramp was developed through a collaborative process between artist, planners, engineers and contractors.

The commission came about through a Bracknell Council policy for the integration of works of art in new developments, and has involved staff from across the Environment and Leisure department.

Artist Andrew Sabin said: "My goal is to produce a stimulating and thought-provoking environment and to resist the tide of sameness in civil engineering that makes one place indistinguishable from another.

"For me all public projects, whether industrial or residential, waste management or highways, need another kind of thinking to be included in the design and delivery team. The Calibrated Ramp has been a fine example of this kind of teamwork."

Cllr Mary Ballin, Executive Member for Bracknell Planning and the Environment said: "I welcome the completion of the Calibrated Ramp. This work is practical - providing a useful link accessible to all pedestrians and cyclists - and striking in its appearance.

"It is the result of a constructive partnership between the developer, a talented artist and the Council to create a piece of public art which makes a very exciting contribution to this new residential development."

Cllr Iain McCracken, Executive Member for Bracknell Leisure and Corporate Services, said: "Artists have an important part to play alongside all the other specialists who help to shape our borough. We want to see artists contributing to developments of all kinds throughout the borough, to our housing and schools as much as to the prestige redevelopment of Bracknell town centre.

"The Calibrated Ramp is a truly imaginative example of how this can happen."

Tim Nutt, Managing Director - KingsOak Thames Valley, said: "As the enabling force behind Andrew Sabin's Calibrated Ramp, our engineers' main challenge was to produce a lasting art work in the form of a highway structure.

"This structure brings a point of interest, reference and visual appeal to our environment.”

Bracknell Forest Borough Council