Learning from London Bridges

Jeff Roberts , June 3rd, 2009

Bridges are schizophrenic things. On one hand, they’re very functional pieces of civil and structural engineering. On the other, they can be some of the most artistic and iconic displays of architecture.

Whether you’re talking about F+P’s Millau Viaduct, FXFOWLE’s Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing, Zaha’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge or COWI’s 28km, US $20 billion bridge from Yemen to Djibouti—the world’s first manmade link between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

The fact is, due to a shift toward civil infrastructure projects, bridges in the region are being built in far greater numbers than ever before and some of the world’s best architects and engineers are clamouring to get involved in them.

ARCHITECT caught up with Wilkinson Eyre Architects (WEA) to profile two of its recent bridge projects. One urban, the other rural, the London-based practice just may be able to teach the region’s developers a thing or two about contextual, functional and intelligent bridge design.

“Successful bridge design draws upon the imagination, as well as the intellect, and involves communicating and achieving exciting ideas. Footbridges are enjoying a second renaissance, with increasing design sophistication and the new, extended materials, which create scope for greater performance with lightness and grace,” says James Marks, associate, WEA.

‘Living Bridge’ University of Limerick, Ireland

This bridge is a small component of the University of Limerick’s plans for expansion to the north of the River Shannon. The design grows from the site—an organic response to a natural environment—connecting the University of Limerick’s campuses to create a new journey for users through the sensitive landscape of the river and its flood plain.

A curvaceous deck sweeps across the Shannon and its embankments in five spans between strategically located support locations. The deck width offers wider platforms to be used as resting places or spaces for public art.

The impression is both of a single crossing but also of a series of bridges jumping from pier to pier, like stepping-stones. “We wanted to celebrate the natural environment being traversed, not the man-made intervention being thrust across it,” says Marks. “The structure is designed for discretion, slung beneath the bridge to minimise visual intrusion at deck level. The resulting experience for the pedestrian is of a promenade through nature.”



Brief requirement

The sensitive nature of the site required a bridge with minimum visual impact which would celebrate the ‘hidden world’ of the river landscape while respecting the local marine life and fishermen.

Architecture

The design is intended to create an organic relationship between the landscape, bridge and user, the bridge being set out on a large, sweeping arc to minimise the impact of the structure on the river islands. Because there is no vantage point where the entire crossing can be viewed at once, the bridge is conceived as a series of discrete spans between piers which form crossings in their own right and are evocative of a stone skimming across the water.
Beyond these, the deck is seen ‘disappearing’ into the landscape, temporarily enclosing pedestrians in the natural environment of the river corridor. At the landing point of each span, the bridge deck widens to create a small refuge and a natural pause in the journey.

Each refuge has stainless steel and timber benches and backlit glazed shelters, which offer an off-campus location for informal meeting and performance, and allows users to inhabit the ‘Living Bridge’ and appreciate the site’s unique and contextual river environment.

Paradise Street Bridge Liverpool, England, UK

The Paradise Street Development in Liverpool has formed a key part of the city’s recent regeneration and reinforcing its status as 2008’s European Capital of Culture. The new developments have enhanced the public realm with a series of exciting new leisure, retail and interchange facilities, providing improved clarity in pedestrian and transport links between the city centre and the Arena and Convention Centre at King’s Waterfront. 

This pedestrian bridge links a car park with a major department store building by providing an enclosed walkway for pedestrians between the two. The bridge is constructed from fabricated steel plate and is extensively glazed—the materials emphasising its folded geometric form. Careful architectural lighting design also enhances the bridge’s geometry by allowing it to ‘glow’ by night.

Context

The site, although located in the centre of Liverpool, was until recently surprisingly open and suffered from a lack of cohesion and critical mass. “It is a dramatic structure which responds directly to the unique constraints of its context in a memorable way,” explains Marks. “This bridge...offers users a spatial experience and a fresh outlook on the ‘Liverpool One’ site.”

The Liverpool One developments aim to create a more distinct urban grain and provide a new network of buildings, spaces and routes to help knit the area back into the fabric of the city.

Brief requirement

The brief was to create a high quality, contemporary solution with a strong identity —immediately recognisable as part of the new Liverpool One urban quarter—that would provide a direct link from the new John Lewis department store to a car park.  

Architecture

The geometry of the bridge was generated from the geometries of the site and the fixed locations of the bridge’s springing points, which are not aligned.

It is therefore conceived as a ‘cranked’ structure composed of three equal lengths, with the middle length positioned perpendicular to the adjacent buildings. Despite the crank in the bridge’s plan, a straight line of sight has been maintained internally which is visually reinforced by the apex of the roof.

The distinctive form of the bridge is built up from a number of faceted plane surfaces that wrap around the bridge deck to enclose and shelter the pedestrian. Some of these planes are part of the bridge’s structural system and are fabricated from steel plate.

Other surfaces are infilled with a lightweight glazed cladding system. The arrangement of solid and void surfaces is symmetrical across the span of the bridge and is used to control views as well as maximising the perceived transparency and lightness of the structure.

The bridge has its own sculptural identity that transcends the utility of its function—to act as a ‘transitional’ element—and appears as a solid structure interlocking with a glazed enclosure, the materials complementing those of the surrounding buildings.

The interior was designed to be a fluid and dynamic space which provides a legible and direct connection between points of departure and points of destination.

The interlock of solid cladding and glazing gives the user a clear understanding of the evolution of the structure from one end to the other. The tapering walls and gradual shift of aspect create visual interest and a feeling of openness. The internal ‘solid’ walls are clad in coloured translucent resin panels.



Project Manager Kerin Contract Management
Structural Engineer Arup
Landscape Architect Brady Shipman Martin
Main Contractor Eiffel UK
Civil Contractor L&M Keating

Client Grosvenor
Structural Engineer Arup
Building Service Engineer Arup
Cost Consultant Davis Langdon
Lighting Designer Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Lighting Consultant Arup
Façade Consultant Arup
Environmental Consultant WSP Group Plc (BREEAM)
Specification Designer Davis Langdon, Schumann Smith
Fire Engineer Tenos Fire Safety Engineering
Main Contractor Tuchschmid

Timetable Oct 2004 - Nov 2007
Budget £11 million (AED 62 million)
Total span 350m

Architect Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Keith Brownlie (Project Director), Jim Eyre, James Marks (Project Associate), Nannette Jackowski, Massimo Mantoan, Simon Roberts, Melany Schaer, Chris Wilkinson