An expert team led by Bell Ingram Design has completed one of its most unusual projects to date - to create a ‘flyover’ for cattle at the Royal Highland Show.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland approached Perthshire-based Bell Ingram Design with the challenge to resolve a traffic issue involving livestock and visitors at the main show ring at the Ingliston showground.
In previous years, the main pedestrian walkway would be temporarily closed at intervals throughout the day to allow livestock to pass from the holding ring into the show ring.
That forced hundreds of visitors to stop and wait until it reopened, which in turn caused blockages.
This year, thanks to Bell Ingram Design’s innovative solution, cattle were able to travel via the new flyover, while the crowd was free to move through an underpass without delay.
Iain Cram, Director of a team of architects at Bell Ingram Design, spoke of the intricate geometry required to complete this one-of-a-kind project while taking up as little valuable space as possible.
Iain said: "It’s fair to say that it’s not every day you get asked to design a flyover for large numbers of prizewinning livestock.
"This commission was all about creating a better user experience for the thousands of people who visited the Royal Highland Show.
"The project was more than a little different to the norm, so was not without its challenges.
"For example, we were very concerned to be sure that the animals would be happy to use the flyover.
"So we had to take this into consideration and designed the ground of the crossing as a stone farm track, so that it felt natural under hoof.
"This was unusual and significant win for Bell Ingram and we were very excited to work Alltec Construction to complete the works."
£1.6m investment of improvements
Willie Gill, Chairman of The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, said the underpass was part of a £1.6m investment of improvements for this year’s show.
He said: "This underpass is yet another demonstration of the Society’s commitment to sustaining the Royal Highland Show’s position as a world-class event.
"By improving the flow of livestock and people through the showground, everyone’s experience was improved greatly.
"Fewer hold-ups meant there was more time to enjoy our celebration of the best in farming, food and rural life."
Bell Ingram Design, a division of Bell Ingram focusing on architecture, has an impressive track record in delivering innovative solutions for clients.
It was appointed to identify a new site, secure planning consent and manage the built infrastructure for the move of T in the Park music festival from Kinross to Strathallan.
In addition, it recently won a commission with The Landmark Trust to lead the upgrading and maintenance of a portfolio of 19 renowned properties in Scotland.
