Swing Bridge

A bony fish that over thousands of years metamorphoses into a skeletal bridge. Using biomimetic principles in its geometry, the bridge is ultra-lightweight, super-economical, and touches the land lightly. To control access, the bridge has two positions: resting in the middle of the weir and swinging 90 degrees. The bridge enables access to a national heritage of international importance, the Crystal Palace Dinosaur islands.

Swing Bridge delivers three specific innovations in its structural formation. The unique circumstances of Dinosaur Island and the need for a secure crossing inspired the structural artwork. The 166-year-old concrete sculptures of Dinosaur are laid out to describe evolutionary development over time. The bridge’s location was chosen to mark the start of this sequence, it also inspired the reference to the precursor to the dinosaurs, the bony fish. To protect access to the Grade I-listed structures, the bridge has been designed to remain in the water and only make its connection to land when access is provided for education and for maintenance.

The solution of the Swing Bridge negates the need for a large protective barrier. The unique arrangement also tells a story of evolution, keeps its distance from the Dinosaurs and requires only one central foundation. A triangular torsion beam delivers load to the central bearing, its tailored form is minimised in response to the bending moment forces. The skeletal deck structure projects out from the beam’s backbone like form. The bridge form gains overall strength through being widest and tallest over its central support. Form gives strength through geometry in each component of the structure.