Cultural and Natural Heritage
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Atkins is one of the world’s leading engineering and design consultancies. Our environmental teams are at the heart of everything we do, working across cities, energy, civil infrastructure and critical natural resource projects of all kinds, to create a liveable future. We are expert in balancing the social and economic demand for development with the need to preserve and enhance our natural environment and heritage assets. We are ambitious and creative in our thinking about what is possible, evolving our services and developing new ones as the need emerges. We are at the cutting edge in predicting, assessing and finding ways to adapt to complex environmental change and resource criticality. We are at the forefront of carbon critical design, helping our clients to reduce and manage their carbon footprints and prepare for a changing climate.
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Our Heritage – Their Future Heritage is all those valuable places that have come to us from yesterday and we have created today, that we want to pass on to the generations of tomorrow. But safeguarding the world’s natural beauty, historic monuments, ecosystems and traditional cities isn’t only about protection and preservation. Its about enlisting these critical resources to strengthen development, enrich renewal, increase prosperity, meet climate targets, create liveability and enhance image – building communities that can face the future with confidence and resilience. We present examples of our work across the globe: • • • • •
Conserving the world’s most extraordinary places Enhancing places for tourists Renewing places through culture and nature Developing places sustainably Advising and innovating for government and business
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Conserving the World’s Most Extraordinary Places … needs deep and wide expertise in archaeology, ecology, botany, architecture, landscape, zoology and all the other scientists and disciplines that create feasible strategic management plans and design solutions and innovations – preserving assets for the future that can be enjoyed today.
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Bahla Fort & Oasis, World Heritage Site Oman Bahla Fort and Oasis is a well-known cultural tourism destination and a World Heritage Site but it was in danger due to the vulnerable condition of its many earthen structures and the rapid pace of modernisation. We developed a Management Plan and Urban Design developing an understanding of the site, and its cultural, physical, planning, social and institutional contexts; evaluating cultural values and identifying its significance, current situation and vulnerability. Our strategic framework addressed sustainable tourism, local skill capacity development and, as well as conservation, sustainable tourism and management. We worked with local community groups, to the UNESCO requirements, International Conservation Charters and the principles of sustainable tourism. Our plans ensured that the cultural and historic values could be maintained, while the town remained vibrant both as a place to live and as a tourism destination.
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Everglades World Heritage Site USA The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) is the world’s largest and most unique environmental ecosystem restoration project. It encompasses more than 18,000 square miles, includes 68 components – including ecological rejuvenation, water storage and wastewater reuse, flood control, and recreation and with an estimated cost of $7.8 billion, will take more than 30 years to construct. In a joint venture Atkins is working with USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) who are responsible for the project, to provide program management support.
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Houses of Parliament & Westminster Abbey London, United Kingdom The World Heritage Site of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey is one of the most visited in the UK and also a place of work, politics and commerce. Atkins prepared a Management Plan for the highly complex and symbolic World Heritage Site which lies at the heart of the UKs democratic and religious history, in accordance with UNESCO standards. The team of conservation architects, urban designers, transport, interpretation, tourism, and heritage specialists addressed issues associated with the setting, dignity, and accessibility of the site. The Management Plan will guide the future of the site, ensuring that the significance and universal values are safeguarded and enhanced, while flourishing as a thriving tourist and educational experience.
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Korup National Park Cameroon Atkins provided specialist skills to develop a Management Plan Framework for the national park. The purpose of the project is to conserve the biodiversity of the lowland tropical forests while promoting social and economic development of the sustainable use of natural resources in the surrounding support zone. The provision of social and physical infrastructure in the support zone was a central element of the project to allow the resettlement of six villages still within the park that were having a major impact on wildlife.
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Neolithic Orkney, World Heritage Site Scotland, United Kingdom Orkney, in the north of Scotland is one of the world’s most important, prehistoric sites. It is important to protect all the visual qualities both for heritage conservation and to ensure a very special visitor experience. We prepared a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the setting of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney WHS and recommendations relating to the review of the buffer zone which protects the views and historic context of the monument. The analysis was well received and will be used to support the development of detailed supplementary planning guidance.
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Enhancing Places for Tourists … needs passion for creating memorable experiences for visitors and holidaymakers combined with knowledge of the tourism industry and experience of concepting and designing resorts and infrastructure – building dreams from nature and culture.
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New National Botanic Reserve Muscat, Oman We developed a masterplan and feasibility study for a regionally
feasibility study, involving our tourism economists, planners, architects,
important tourist and visitor destination based on the creation of Oman’s
botanists, engineers and cultural specialists, looked at the regional and
first Botanic Reserve. The vision was to showcase the ecologically rich
national tourism and economic context and our architectural and spatial
Middle East’s 1,200 species of native plants, 76 of which are found only
design included biomes, visitor centre, study centre and holiday village.
in Oman. The masterplan successfully combined conservation, research
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and education relating to internationally important species ,with hotel
The project forms part of Oman’s national strategy to develop its tourism
and recreation which celebrating Omani culture and traditions. Our
industry using the country’s diverse cultural and natural assets.
Jigongshan China Jigongshan has been a mountain resort for over 100 years and is still one of the nation’s most important destinations. It is important for a large number of historic buildings, rare wildlife species and stunning scenic views. The development of the resort will help to revitalise the economic and social situation of the area. We have developed a strategy to create a new town, conference centre and modern resort at the foot of the mountain and enhance the full natural and cultural heritage visitor offer at the summit. We undertook market and economic appraisal, benchmarking and positioning as well as identification of the key cultural and natural heritage assets, the themes and stories which arise from them as well as scheme of interpretation media and visitor offers including museums, study, orientation, outdoor and interpretation centres.
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National Strategy for Visitor and Interpretation Wales, United Kingdom Encompassing places as diverse as medieval castles, Neolithic tombs and 19th century furnaces, CADW’s estate of historic properties forms the back bone of Wales’ national heritage. Working with Bremner & Orr, we prepared a nationwide interpretation strategy for this rich and complex estate. We developed proposals for interpretation, visitor welcome and engagement at a number of pilot sites and developing a methodology for the rest of the estate. We devised concepts, themes and stories to present a narrative for interpreting the history and heritage of Wales.
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Harat Al Ramel Ibri, Oman Atkins was commissioned by the Kingdom of Oman Ministry of Tourism to undertake a Feasibility Study for sustainable tourism development of the Harat in the context of the wider historic setting of the town of Ibri and its surrounding region. We provided concepts for developing the historic village as heritage-based visitor attraction to help the economic revitalisation of the area and undertook the economic, cultural and social assessment and developed a strategy for conservation of the buildings. Our concept included the provision of conservation facilities, interpretation, museum and information centre, lodge-style accommodation, artisan workshops and a souk. A number of dwellings would also be restored for programmes of traditional re-enactments as well as holiday accommodation.
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Socotra Archipelago Yemen The Socotra archipelago,famous world-wide for its fauna and flora is one of the least developed parts of the Yemen Republic, yet immensely valuable as a destination for eco-tourism. We recommended a phased eco-tourism development plan based on building eco-lodges and training programmes for local people. We prepared a masterplan for the islands’ development over a ten year period, looking at the existing situation in a variety of sectors - environment, population, health, education, fisheries, agriculture, livestock, tourism, economy, infrastructure, utilities, local government administration, water and land use - and devised projects for implementation in each sector, ensuring each element did not threaten the important wildlife.
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Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site Northern Ireland, United Kingdom The Giant’s Causeway attracts many tourists and visitors to see the remarkable geological formations and spectacular scenery of the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland. It is also the place of many legends and historic events that have helped to shape the image of Ireland. We developed an Interpretation Strategy for the World Heritage Site to provide a seamless and inspirational visitor experience that reflected the stunning beauty and drama of the site and the many geological, ecological and mythological stories associated with it. The study also involved extensive analysis of visitor numbers, profiles and requirements to ensure that the final result would meet the needs of visitors of all ages and abilities.
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Renewing Places Through Culture and Nature … needs the confidence to see that economic and social development and can be led by revitalising historic assets, greening villages and cities, and engaging communities – regenerating through heritage.
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National Planning Strategy Kingdom of Bahrain Cultural and eco-tourism is an essential element of our work in developing and implementing Bahrain’s National Development Planning Strategy. The project provides an opportunity to take a similar strategic overview of the kingdom’s terrestrial and coastal cultural and natural resources and the infrastructure for tourists and visitors. Its heritage includes thousands of burial mounds dating from the bronze age, Bahrain Fort, the historic towns of Muharraq and Manama, and sites relating to aspects of the country’s economic history, including pearl diving, local craftsmanship and the oil industry. We are developing land use, environmental management, industry, transport and social solutions, as well as legislation and governance to ensure that Bahrain is a high-quality place to visit.
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Old City of Linjang World Heritage Site Development Masterplan China Atkins helped conserve the setting of the Old Town of Lijiang World Heritage Site (China) which has been billed as China’s last “living” ancient town. The centuriesold town centre is suffering from indiscriminate modern development, earthquakes and mass tourism. Atkins prepared a masterplan proposal to encourage sustainable and appropriate new development away from the historic core whilst retaining the setting and character of the World Heritage Site.
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Tourism Development Namibia Since independence in 1990, Namibia has been preparing a series of new policies and plans to define the country’s future development paths. As part of this process, in recognition of the fact that Namibia has many wildlife and scenic attractions with great tourism potential, the EC agreed to fund the preparation of a ten year tourism development plan. However, many of the country’s wildlife and scenic resources are fragile in nature and some areas are also home to societies that followed very traditional ways of life. We were commissioned to develop a plan balancing development against environmental protection. We made recommendations aimed at ensuring the physical and biological values were not degraded and that developments would be acceptable to residents.
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Nepal Eco Tourism Nepal This project was designed to address poverty, gender and environmental issues in Nepal within the context of tourism development, by developing a programme of action for different sectors and areas and empowering local governments and communities to implement their own projects. A number of hill towns and remote areas were identified for tourism development, together with ‘sub projects’ such as infrastructure improvements community development and tourism training.
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Social Benefits of Heritage In association with the Institute of Field Archaeologists and London Metropolitan University, we undertook research into the ways in which the historic environment provides social and economic benefit. The study identified ways of measuring these benefits and provided guidelines to assist with social regeneration and the development of sustainable communities.
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Developing Places Sustainably … needs the strength to ensure that the valuable environment is not needlessly lost when building new communities and providing essential infrastructure and resources, and the skill to deliver proportionate assessment and mitigation – ensuring that development and environment can work in harmony.
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London 2012 Olympics United Kingdom The site identified for the London 2012 Olympic Park contains highly significant archaeological remains and deposits relating to the development of this part of the city. We provided the Olympic Delivery Authority with full cultural heritage and environmental impact assessment services and assisted in the management of a major programme of archaeological excavations, to support the delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, ensuring value for money as well as meeting the planning and environmental obligations of the Olympic Delivery Authority.
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Hoover Dam Bypass USA For 75 years, travellers along US Route 93 between Arizona and Nevada have driven across the top of the Hoover Dam, high above the Colorado River. But because of increasing concerns about safety and the effect of any interruption of power and water supply as a result of a car crash, a bypass was recently opened. The environmentally sensitive and historic features of the location meant that all aspects of the project’s progress and visual quality were under intense public scrutiny through all phases of the project. We provided inspection and quality assurance to support the Central Federal Lands Highway Division’s construction management team.
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Vojvodina Windfarm Serbia Renewable energy will help us to combat climate change and is becoming part of infrastructure development. We were asked to undertake a habitat survey of a proposed 160 MW windfarm site in Vojvodina province, Serbia by Continental Wind Partners as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment needed for the Serbian planning process. The proposed covers an area of 60 km2 and lies at the south of the Pannonian Plain of central Europe, with relict fragments of the steppe grasslands which would have once covered much of this area are still present around the margins of the site. We identified and mapped habitats present within the site, and assessed potential for legally protected or notable species. We used the internationally recognised British technique of Phase 1 habitat mapping developed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, along with the EUNIS (European Union Nature Information System) system of European habitat classification developed by the European Environment Agency. A terrestrial ecologist from Atkins worked alongside a local ecological specialist from Belgrade University.
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Crossrail London, United Kingdom Crossrail is a new railway across London, from Heathrow Airport and commuter areas in the west, to Canary Wharf and the east. Due to open in 2018, more than 200m passengers are expected to use it each year. Atkins with Arup, has been working on many aspects of this prestigious project and a wide range of our environmental specialists are involved providing services including geotechnical engineering, planning, heritage, waste management, ecology and public realm.
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Advising and Innovating for Government and Business …needs the imagination to take a strategic view, lead in debate and devise new approaches, combined with the credibility to provide dependable expertise and solutions – bringing a global perspective to unique places.
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Heritage Protection Review As part of the UK Government’s review of Heritage Protection in England and Wales we were appointed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and English Heritage, to undertake a review of delivery at local level of the new heritage protection regime. Our work involved detailed research and consultation including interviews, surveys and analysis of the ways in which Local Authorities manage the historic environment and deliver heritage services across England. Our report was published in 2006 alongside the White Paper for the Heritage Protection Bill to Parliament. We were subsequently reappointed to undertake further research into how the proposed changes can help local heritage services deliver better public value.
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South Downs National Park United Kingdom Atkins seconded a key member of its Heritage team to support the establishment of the South Downs National Park Authority. The South Downs is the newest and one of the largest National Parks in the United Kingdom, covering an area of some 1,600km2, and is home to over 120,000 people. Our role included a strategic assessment of the physical and intangible cultural heritage of the entire park, which includes thousands of designated historic buildings and settlements, hundreds of protected archaeological monuments and many examples of local traditions and living culture, as well as partnership building, project initiation and the development of a 3 year work programme for the newly recruited heritage team.
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Images of Change For English Heritage we prepared their position statement on the heritage of the twentieth century Change and Creation in 2004. Working with Oxford University and University College London we then produced Images of Change: an archaeology of England’s contemporary landscape, published by EH. This beautifully illustrated 200 page book explores England’s post-war landscape. It represents a modern agenda for re-examining the seldom celebrated but still crucial elements of our 20th Century cultural heritage such as airports, schools, power stations and holiday camps. The Foreword is by Antony Gormley. The book has been praised in the national press, described by the New Statesman as “wonderfully enjoyable, even an important book … designed to be used”, and by the Sunday Telegraph as “valuable and thought-provoking” revealing “surprising beauty in the most unlikely
© Gareth Talbot
places”.
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Future of London’s Royal Parks United Kingdom Atkins has taken a lead in developing a programme of workshops and debates to consider the future value of the Royal Parks, arguably London’s most important and iconic open spaces. Our role was to identify the current historic, cultural, social, economic and natural capital value of the Royal Parks and to consider how those values – and our responses to management - may change given the impact of a number of different climate change scenarios.
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Thought-Leading Ecology United Kingdom Atkins is known for pragmatic and innovative solutions to potential ecological constraints that have provided real business benefits. The best ideas are written up for a range of publications and journals to keep us ahead of the game. Recent topics include articles on great crested newts and mineral extraction (Mineral Planning), habitat translocation and engineering (Civil Engineering), ecosystem services (WEM magazine), mammals and road underpasses (Conservation Evidence), urban greenspace (Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology), urban biodiversity (Urban Ecology, OUP) and sustainable urban drainage systems (Municipal Engineering).
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GR8888 - Cities (Cultural and Natural Heritage), 20110831
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Janet Miller Director Euston Tower, 286 Euston Road, London NW1 3AT England Telephone +44 (0) 20 7121 2264 Mobile +44 (0) 7711 78 7915 Fax +44 (0) 20 7121 2806 Email
[email protected]
www.atkinsglobal.com
The Atkins logo, ‘Carbon Critical Design’ and the strapline ‘Plan Design Enable’ are trademarks of Atkins Ltd. © Atkins Ltd except where stated otherwise
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