inspirations in footbridges designing

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

INSPIRATIONS IN FOOTBRIDGE DESIGNING

Marek SALAMAK Dr. Eng. Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland [email protected]

Summary

The paper presents a few examples of designed and constructed bridges which were inspired by quite strange prototypes from nature and even the history or the philosophy. It shows how it is important to establish a good cooperation between the architect and the structure engineer.

Keywords: footbridge; aesthetic; structural concepts; planning.

1. Introduction

We seek inspiration all our life. Every day we have thousands of thoughts which may become inspiration for us. We use our senses: we look, hear, feel, think… We look around and see the nearest object or surroundings and suddenly an idea for a new object or piece appears. Inspiration is a driving force for all our civilisation. It makes thousands of people work on new projects and solutions, and the visionaries push the world forward.

This includes also bridges, and especially footbridges. The paper presents a few examples of designed and constructed bridges and footbridges which were inspired by quite untypical patterns from nature, and even history or philosophy. It shows how important for achieving a success it is to establish a good cooperation between the architect and structural engineer. The experience shows that it often requires a lot of effort from the whole team.

2. What is an inspiration

Inspiration (Latin, inspiratio) i.e. afflatus, willingness to act, enthusiasm to create, somebody else’s suggestion or opinion affecting the behaviour of the inspired person. Creative activity is subject to continuous change. It is always preceded by inspiration resulting in new quality of creation. As creative activity is a reflection of our internal experience, it may represent us ourselves. The self we manifest inspires us to creatively experience our life. Inspiration pushes us forward.

Inspirations in designing bridges may be divided into two kinds: those which are directly derived from the already constructed objects and those which are totally unrelated to such objects. Both are of vital importance and have a considerable impact on a designer.

Fig. 1 Great figures and visionaries who can inspire other bridge designers

Inspiration which comes directly from the existing bridges is nothing else than inspiration which we usually draw from other designers. Every structural engineer or architect with some experience and orientation in the world of engineering has somebody whom they admire and to some extent try to “overcome”. And when they already achieve all the goals set at the beginning, then they go further looking at somebody who is still better. There are many such great figures and visionaries in the world: Gustave Eiffel, James Finley, Thomas Telford, Eugene Freyssinet, Fritz Leonhardt, Robert

Fritz LeonhardtRobert Maillart Christian MennGustave Eiffel Thomas Telford Eugene Freyssinet Santiago Calatrava

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Maillart, Christian Menn or Santiago Calatrava (Fig. 1). The creative activity of the latter has become very poplar lately. After he had built the first bridge in America (the Bridge in Redding, California), Herbert Muschamp from NY Times Architecture Critic said about him that it was hard to describe genius at that level. When certain society invites him to their circle, many of its members experience a complete transformation in the way they perceive architecture.

Fig. 2 Inspirations from nature – knocked down logs

The other kind of inspiration is very natural and we may say primary. It is an adventure with the richness of still and living art and practically all areas of human life, and especially technologies which often are completely unrelated to bridges. It depends solely on our imagination how far these inspirations may reach.

Let the below presented examples be only a small sample showing what effects may different, sometimes unexpected patterns bring.

3. Inspirations from nature

Numerous book on history of bridges present in their introductions reference to natural, primary examples of beam constructions. Usually the pictures show a log knocked down by the wind (Fig. 2) facilitating crossing over the obstacle. Certainly, it must have been the first inspiration originating from nature and used for building simple wooden footbridges.

Fig. 3 A tree –Tongnan Bridge in Tianjin, China [1]

The fallen trees are not the only inspiration. The designers casting a bridge or footbridge through wooded areas or parks often decide to make the supports resemble the neighbouring tree trunks and branches. They sometimes become dominant and are even developed into carrying elements of the spans. That was the case of the Tongnan Bridge in China. [1]. Vertical bars of spatial framework (Fig. 3) resemble the trees set in a row; their branches are joined in the upper part by horizontal bars which are stripes of the framework. The bridge itself is not a small one as it stretches into 128 m, and its width exceeds 29 m.

Natural stone bridges like for example the famous arch in Utah (Fig. 4) still toady are the inspiration for numerous designers. On the Footbridge Conference in 2005 Jiri Strasky [2]. presented a concept of a Leamouth Footbridge in London which is shaped just after this natural structure. It can be also a river like in case of Maribor Footbridge, designed by Ja Studio & Tadj-Farzin [3], opening on Drava River waves (Fig. 5).

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Fig. 4 A Stone Arch Bridge in Utah – Leamouth Footbridge in London, Great Britain [2]

Fig. 5 A river – Maribor Footbridge on Drava River, Slovenia [3]

The animal world has become inspiration relatively recently. Animal shapes are more difficult to copy and could be used in bridges only after certain level of technology has been reached and modern materials applied. A quest for new, more astonishing forms of bridges and especially footbridges was also of considerable importance. Two examples of such structures are the already constructed Butterfly footbridge in Bedford (Fig. 6) and the design of Cannonica footbridge over the Reno river in Italy (Fig. 7) whose shape shall resemble a swan. [4].

Fig. 6 A butterfly – Butterfly Footbridge in Bedford, Great Britain

Fig. 7 A swan – Cannonica Footbridge over the Reno river in Casalecchio di Reno, Italy [4] and Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam

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Not only may footbridges be inspired by the animal world. The Luilin bridge in China (Fig. 8) is designed to imitate the body of a dragonfly which not only lives at the banks of river creating the obstacle but also constitutes an element of Chinese mythology. [1]. A dragonfly symbolises speed and momentum. It is treated as a sacred animal having healing properties.

Fig. 8 A dragonfly –Luilin Bridge in Tianjin, China [1]

A light and delicate cobweb becomes inspiration not only for poets and painters. It evokes admiration also among structural engineers. Web structures are widely used in various branches of civil engineering, however not in case of bridges. Some novelty, and for quite a considerable scale, is the project of a bridge over Gibraltar presented by Marco Peroni on the IABSE symposium in Bucharest. [5]. It is the development of Sergio Musmeci’s suspension bridge concept from 1965 where secondary transverse ropes increasing inner damping of torsional vibrations were used. A new design of the bridge (Fig. 9) having 15 km total length and 10 km span is based on the use of a three dimensional net in the shape of a hyperboloid set between the pylons. In its inner side the girders carrying the road and rail traffic shall be suspended and above there shall be an additional structure intended for the bridge maintenance services and visitors.

Fig. 9 A cobweb – a concept of a net bridge over Gibraltar [5] and hyperboloid footbridge on Corporation Street in Manchester

Inspirations derived from nature which are visible at the first glance become insufficient with time. The Helix footbridge in Seattle is meant to reflect a helix structure of the DNA molecule (Fig. 10) which not only binds all biological life on the Earth but is also a basic subject of research conducted by the footbridge investor which is one the biggest biotechnology companies in the world. [6]. The arches form external arrangement of the basic DNA shape, whereas the support of the landing and upper framework complete this helix shape.

Fig. 10 A DNA – Helix Footbridge in Seattle, USA [6]

4. Inspirations from other branches of technology

The appearance of some modern bridges was often influenced by other branches of technology. And it is not only about adaptation of new materials and structural solutions which have been previously used in the industry, or army. It is again a quest for new forms which shall be consciously associated with a specific subject or its futuristic vision.

Such obvious associations appear in case of the footbridge in Almeje, the Netherlands (Fig. 11). Part of its span was shaped in a form of an aircraft wing and by no means it is an imitation, but a true carrying element. It is a bit less distinct in case of a trestle bridge in Nanterre (Fig. 12). To some extent its intersection resembles a taxing aircraft, and maybe even an aircraft carrier. Undoubtedly this object is very dynamic [7]. and while looking at it ones gets impression as if it was moving together with the cars speeding on it.

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Fig. 11 An aircraft wing – a footbridge in Almeje, the Netherlands

Fig. 12 An aircraft carrier – a trestle bridge in Nanterre, France [7]

One of the greatest contemporary visionaries in bridge industry, Santiago Calatrava, often speaks about his inspirations. For example, his footbridge in Redding, in Turtle Bay Exploration Park, California (Fig. 13) was called a sundial not without a reason. Whereas while walking on the Starsky’s footbridge [9]. across the Vranov Lake waters in the Czech Republic, at the windy weather one may get impression that he or she sails on a Great White Fleet ship (Fig. 14).

Fig. 13 A sundial – Calatrava Footbridge in Redding, USA [8]

Fig. 14 The Great White Fleet – a footbridge over the Vranov Lake, the Czech Republic

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The space technology, or actually the fascinations with futuristic visions created by the science-fiction writers or films related to this technology, has a great impact on bridges and not only on their appearance. For example, a vision of the so called Space Time Transformation Footbridge [10] proposed by Michael Jantzen (Fig. 15) with half-transparent glass solar cells, or else the same author’s footbridge concept – a wind tunnel (Fig. 16) being a power generator at the same time. Certainly, these are only more or less realistic visions which at the attempts to execute without proper analyses of structure may become not particularly successful. To some extent this was the case of a millennium footbridge in London (Fig. 17) where space technology inspirations may also be seen.

Fig. 15 Science-Fiction and a vision of the city of the future – The Space Time Transformation Footbridge [10]

Fig. 16 Wind Power Plant – The Wind Tunnel Footbridge [11]

Fig. 17 Space Technology – Millennium Footbridge in London, Great Britain

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5. Inspirations from philosophy and history

This kind of inspiration is probably the most spiritualized and sometimes even hard to notice. Especially nowadays when the form of contemporary bridges considerably differs from the classic structural standards. In the past, these were most frequently architectonical details, such as for example a chain-type bridge in Clifton, Bristol where the pylons were decorated with sphinxes and hieroglyphs. The bridge, however was also a noteworthy challenge in that time due to its considerable span and inclination. Thomas Telford did not want to give his consent for building that bridge as another bridge of similar structure in Menai, Wales was damaged by a strong wind. However, the designer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, did not give up, and recently, on the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, the bridge was equipped with attractive and modern LED type lighting.

Fig. 18 A gondola –Calatrava Bridge in Venice [12]

The majority of famous bridges built in XIX century were decorated with additional figures or ornaments. That was the case inter alia in Budapest. For example on masts of the Liberty Bridge are decorated with statues of the Turuls, symbolic birds, prominent in ancient Hungarian mythology; the Chain Bridge is guarded by four statues of lions, and the Margaret Bridge is decorated with sculptures carved by Adolphe Thabard.

Fig. 19 A dancer – Bridge of Aspiration, UK 2003, Royal Ballet School, London [13]

Tradition and conservatism of Venice was accepted by the aforementioned Calatrava [12]. His bridge over the Grand Canal (Fig. 18) is meant to resemble a typical Venetian gondola with its shape and colours. Similar traditional and classic associations appear when we look at the footbridge connecting the ballet school building and the Royal Opera House in London (Fig. 19). The effect of lightness was obtained through reciprocal movement of aluminium frames and satin glass plating [13].

Fig. 20 Bond and trap – a concept of the border footbridge Loophole over the Olza river in Cieszyn [14]

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A concept of a new border footbridge across the Olza river in the centre of Cieszyn is considerably pervaded with symbolism (Fig. 20). It was designed by a French architect, Francois Roche, and is called Loophole [14]. While crossing to the other side of the river on a landing set inside geometrically changing transverse frames, in the middle of the span we are forced to make a loop and turn back to the bank we set off from. Looping, trap, connection of two parts of the town, difficult past, hesitation whether I should leave the homeland. This is probably only a part of what the designer wants to tell us with his vision.

6. Bridges which themselves became inspirations

The most interesting bridges designed with imagination often further become inspiration for the others. This was for example the case of the Brooklyn Bridge which nowadays is itself afflatus for poets, painters and musicians. It is probably the most famous bridge in literature. Mayakovski, after his return from USA, fascinated by this structure and engineering genius, wrote a poem prising technological achievement of man. In the refrain a sentence “Brooklyn Bridge — yes… That’s quite a thing” reappears.

Fig. 21 The Brooklyn Bridge itself became inspiration for poets, painters and musicians

In American culture the sale of the Brooklyn Bridge (Fig. 21) became a symbol of naivety. “I have an excellent offer for you, but you have to trust me…”. Seemingly, this slogan was used in the beginning of XX century even to increase the prices of real estate in Brooklyn. Kurt Vonnegut speaks about the sale of this bridge in his novel Bluebeard from 1987 “If I took his money it would be the same as if I sold him the Brooklyn Bridge.” Whereas, “Not the Brooklyn Bridge” is Edward Stachura’s poem In this poem Stachura joined a poetic polemics with the aforementioned Mayakovski’s poem from the twenties.

Other bridge famous from a song is Pont St-Benézet across the Rodan river. In the world it is associated with the children’s song Sur le pont d'Avignon whereas in Poland it is associated with the unforgettable interpretation of Ewa Demarczyk who to the music of Andrzej Zarzycki sung the Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński’s poem of the same title. Baczyński wrote the poem while staying in hospital in 1941 injured during Warsaw Uprising. Moreover, the Bridge on the River Kwai associated with II World War has a strong position in literature and film; the bridge has recently been very interestingly described by Jan Biliszczuk [15].

As bridges were the favourite motif of impressionists many of them were commemorated on their paintings. A drawbridge in Langlois, Provence was painted by van Gogh in as many as five versions. Monet also painted many bridges, among them bridges in Argenteuil, Pont Neuf, Waterloo. Ruins of a Roman bridge cast across the Nera river in the Italian town of Narni has been for many years attracting landscape painters from all over the world.

For sure there are more of such bridges in the world. Do our bridges have a chance to become one of them?

7. Conclusion

Looking and using fantastic bridges which were designed by people gifted with huge imagination, we too are inspired to become more creative and perfect. We see that we have a great potential and that we too are able to make use of it. Such inspiration pushes us forward. It makes us believe that we will be successful in everything we start to create. Inspiration gives us power to continue even if the adversities strongly cool our enthusiasm down. Inspiration is an impulse to act, it is a voice from behind our back which will never let us stand still. It is difficult to do without it and designers who claim that they do not have it or do not need it, probably simply tell lies.

At the end we may not forget that inspirer is unbreakably connected with the word inspiration; as dictionary says an inspirer is a spiritual father or the one who encourages, stimulates, or inspires. Who is he or He? Who he is for me? To

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this question everybody should answer for their own.

8. References

[1] MEYBOOM J., VERBURG T., HAWK H., Six signature bridges in the People’s Republic of China, 5th International Conference on Current and Future Trends in Bridge Design, Construction and Maintenance, 17–18 September, Beijing, China, pp. 360-368

[2] STRASKY J., Pedestrian bridges utilizing High Strength Concrete, footbridge 2005, Venice, December 6-8, 2005

[3] JA Studio Inc. web page at www.jastudioinc.com

[4] MAJOWIECKI M., Three footbridges, footbridge 2005, Venice, December 6-8, 2005

[5] PERONI M., Gibraltar Straits crossing: a new design proposal, IABSE Symposium, September 13-15, 2006, Budapest, Hungary

[6] MCMULLEN D., DIEDRICH P., STERNSTEIN D., Helix pedestrian bridge, footbridge 2005, Venice, December 6-8, 2005

[7] SALAMAK M. – Filozofia oraz autoreklama projektu na przykładzie estakady w Nanterre. Inżynieria i Budownictwo 4/2007, pp. 194-195 (in Polish)

[8] Long Island City Sundial at http://licsundial.net/?m=200708

[9] STRASKY J., Stress ribbon and cable-supported pedestrian bridges, Thomas Telford, London, 2005

[10] BACKHOUSE S., Space Time Transformation. Heroic Design, Architecture / Interior design, at www.gliving.com

[11] G LIVING Staff., The Turbine Wind Tunnel Bridge, Architecture / Interior design, at www.gliving.com

[12] GREGORY R., Intellectual leap: the Venetian gondola is the inspiration for a new bridge on the Grand Canal, Architectural Review, Sept. 2006

[13] FIRTH I., New materials for modern bridges, footbridge 2002, Paris, 20-22 November, 2002

[14] MYTKOWSKA J., PRZYWARA A., CICHOCKI S., Loopgole. Nowy most na Olzie, Magazyn Rzeczy o dizajnie, 10/2005, http://rzeczy.net/czytaj_137.php (in Polish)

[15] BILISZCZUK J., Legenda mostu na rzece Kwai, Mosty, 1/2007, pp. 42-47 (in Polish)

inspirations in footbridges designing

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