7 Footbridges That Are Anything But Pedestrian

The humble footbridge might be making a comeback. For those seeking the High Line’s fusion of infrastructure, public space, and real estate energy but who can’t afford the price tag of Washington, D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge or London’s Garden Bridge, then a simple solution may be at hand. Typically anonymous and utilitarian, one coalition of private and public interests in London is hoping to elevate the footbridge to new urban prominence.

Some of the submissions to the Nine Elms Pimlico Bridge Competition. Photograph: Wandsworth council via The Guardian.

The prospective bridge would connect Nine Elms, a fast-growing neighborhood located between Vauxhall Park and Battersea Park, to Pimilco, located just across the Thames. While Pimilco saw most of its development in the 30s and 50s, and is home to one of the few greenspaces in the area — St. George’s Square Garden, where the bridge would actually land — Nine Elms has seen a frenzy of recent development. This includes the new KieranTimberlake-designed US Embassy and the ongoing conversion of Battersea Power Station into luxury flats, among other new skyscrapers. This atmosphere of real estate development and large-scale urban change sets this bridge apart from London’s other footbridges, such as the famous but already centrally located Millennium Bridge.

One of the submitted designs for the new Thames footbridge.Image: Nine Elms to Pimlico Bridge Competition Wandsworth Council, via Mashable

The competition guidelines asked for a “fitting landmark” and architects duly responded with proposals that range from conventional to otherworldly. The City Of Westminster is opposed to the bridge, and even if they can be persuaded to approve the project, it’s currently £14m behind on its £40m budget. A winning design will be announced in the summer of 2015 and more fundraising will ensue.

To anchor both sides of the debate, we present this collection of built footbridges that range from elegant to rugged, small to grand.

Merchant Square footbridge by Knight Architects. Photographs by Edmund Sumner, PETERÂ COOK.

Kicking off the collection is, appropriately, another London footbridge. Steel construction, hydraulic systems, and large counterweights enable the 65ft-long and 10ft-wide bridge to expand and separate like a Japanese fan. Part of a wider development of Merchant square, this kinetic design replaced an existing crossing. While dynamic, the new Thames bridge would have to span approximately ten times the distance (approximately 600ft), making such mechanics difficult.

Mustad Pedestrian Bridge by KONTUR AS / CTRL+N. Photographs by Erik Brett Jacobsen, Einar Aslaksen.

While not nearly as dynamic, this span manages to seem muscular and elegant at the same time. The balance was clearly important for the architects: On a smaller span, anything less than its current 104ft length, its dimensions would appear bulky and overwrought. Its profile might have been even slimmer but the architects encased its steel girders in robust weathering steel. The end result is quite beautiful, echoing the colors of the redbrick office building and the rough landscape below.

Plashet School Footbridge by Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects.

Spanning a highway, this footbridge isn’t actually public, but used by students to travel between two school buildings. The constraints of the project heavily informed the design: the pathway twists to avoid several trees and prefabricated steel construction minimized cost. The undulating translucent coverings allow usage in all weather while keeping the space naturally lit.

Smedenpoort in Bruges by Ney & Partners.

Site constraints of a very different nature were also a critical factor in this project. Located alongside an historic 14th-century bridge, the new pedestrian crossing had to respect the preexisting architecture. The architects opted for a slender weathering-steel construction that gently flexes outwards, almost acting as a literal parentheses for the old bridge. The closely-spaced bars make the bridge appear solid when approached head-on but disappear at almost any other angle.

Footbridge in Knokke by Ney & Partners.

Although it was produced by the same firm as the previous example, this bridge behaves very differently. Its graceful design was an exercise in efficiency: The hand-drawn initial form was translated into a computer model and optimized such that its longest span of 150ft requires steel plates less than half an inch thick (seen connecting the V-shaped supports to the walkway). Of course, that’s not the only structural element working to keep the pathway aloft — a single continuous beam, concealed under the walkway, runs the bridge’s entire 341ft length.

Footbridge Crossing L’Areuse by Geninasca Delefortrie Architectes.

Resting gently on the banks of a river as though it was carefully lowered from above, this forest crossing is made from steel, which seems to be the only foreign element that the architects introduced to the landscape. Everything else is attuned to its natural surroundings: Its pebble walkway, its curvilinear form, and a profile that disappears thanks to a slim space frame and an even slimmer walkway.

Footbridge Over the Railways by DVVD. Photography © Cyril Sancereau.

Some bridges aim to exude a welcoming feel. The edges of the span curve upwards and inwards towards the middle of the crossing, sheltering pedestrians. While the architects describe it as having a “cozy pontoon bridge atmosphere,” we think we understand what they mean.