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ST HELIER PROMENADE AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, JERSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS

We were one of six design teams selected from 70 expressions of interest for this 2002 competition. The main structural element of our bridge, spanning 45 metres, was a load bearing canopy weighing only 9 tonnes and formed by two intersecting hyperbolic paraboloids ( or toroids ). This semi-monocoque assembly was made of two seamless twelve gauge aluminium skins held apart. The canopy is supported on two pin joints resisting lateral forces of 4200 kN, and stabilised by two 45 mm diameter ties. The bridge deck, 6 meters wide, with a possibility of extension to 9 meters, was intermittently suspended from the canopy by three pairs of 60mm diameter dyform cables. The colour changing light scheme for the bridge emphasised the sculptural form of the canopy/beam and respected the ‘dark skies’ policy. A local resident voting for our bridge said : “Only one fits in with the landscape is Studio Bednarski, all the rest come from another planet”. Our design followed from our bridge design for the Albert Dock in Liverpool. No bridge was ever built in St Helier.

With Professor Jiri Strasky and Peter Fink

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