ROATH BASIN SOUTH CROSSING, CARDIFF
Roath Basin South covers 37 acres of post-industrial waterfront land on Cardiff Bay. We won a 2005 Welsh Development Agency invited competition involving a pedestrian / cyclist / road bridge needed to facilitate development of this area. The shortlist also included Grimshaw, Yee Associates and Murray Dunlop Architects. Igloo ( Morley Fund ) is the developer, with the first building being BBC TV studios where, among others, Dr Who will be filmed. The lock width is 24.4m and the bridge structure spans 41m. Our playful ‘origami bridge’ design has been pragmatically informed by the requirement not to load the historic listed lock walls and to keep clear space and headroom for lock-side walks for pedestrians. Two sets of ‘V’ beams rest on foundations set away from the dock walls and the bridge deck is mostly cantilevered from the ‘V’ beams at mid span, not putting any significant loads onto the lock walls. The bridge was completed in 2011.
Studio Bednarski with Flint & Neill Partnership.
