LONDON MILLENIUM BRIDGE (ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL TO THE TATE MODERN AND THE GLOBE THEATRE)
"The eye is not satisfied with seeing" - Ecclesiastes 1:8.
225 entries were received in this open, world – wide, two-stage competition involving a 250m pedestrian bridge. We were one of six
finalists who included also Sir Norman Foster with Sir Anthony Caro ( the ultimate winners ), Frank Gehry with Richard Serra + teams from
Japan and Denmark. The inspiration for our bridge was the 1666 great fire of London immortalised in a print by Merian. From the ashes north
of the Thames grew a magnificent city. The south, seemingly unscathed at the time of fire, became backward and neglected. We sought to create
a ‘tool of exorcisms’, which would bring the flames of change from the north to the south. The key feature thus was our bridge’s ability to
change appearance, from transparent to translucent and opaque, and to change its internal colour. Every year the Tate gallery would have
commissioned a computer artist to ‘design’ the bridge anew. The bridge would have also responded to the tidal changes of the Thames Our
bridge was not merely an efficient river crossing device, as proposed by others, but an interactive environment designed to provide ample
space on its deck, ( 10.5 meters wide between rails at its widest point ) for both the enjoyment of the experience as well as social
interaction between people. More of an elongated public agora, an ’unwrapped’ amphitheatre from which to enjoy the Thames, London and each
other, than a feat of fixed and finite engineering to stare at.
with Peter Fink, Trafalgar House ( Kvaerner ) Technology and Tim Macfarlane
