Landmark Wales

Newport, Great Britain

Architects: Marks Barfield Architects

Location: Severn Rd Bridge, NP16 Newport, Great Britain

The concept for this competition winning project, a landmark for Wales, to be sited beside the M4 as you enter the country just beyond the West end of the Severn Bridge, is derived from the name the Welsh people give themselves - cymry. Derived from an older North British or Celtic word, cymry means 'compatriot' or 'fellow countryman', so that Cymru could also be called 'Land of the Compatriots'.

The idea is to create a soaring community of 'compatriots' in the sky - each an individual, yet all moving as one; appearing to dance with the wind like a flock of birds, with arms outstretched as if flying free in a childlike gesture of pure joy. The constant movement of the piece, which we call the 'Red Cloud', will allow it to sit sympathetically in its natural setting, swaying gently in harmony with the trees around it, even as its sheer scale takes the breath away.