Marc Mimram wins new Bridge in Bath design competition

new Bridge in Bath
new Bridge in Bath
Image © Marc Mimram

Bath & North East Somerset Council, in the UK, has revealed the winning design for the prestigious Bath Quays Bridge competition. The city of Bath is built around water. Since ancient times, its development has been rooted in the presence of water, of which the river Avon is the symbol. The river is the matrix of the city and it defines its geography. Between history and modernity, the footbridge will be a symbol of this attention to the surrounding landscape, to the qualities of its environment and to the presence of its built history.

new Bridge in Bath
Image © Marc Mimram

The structure of the footbridge adapts to the scheme of stresses while accompanying the pedestrian pathway: delicate, efficient and variable. The steel structure changes, and its variation expresses the attention to a form of frugality, of distinction in the landscape; a variation of curves that enhances the topography to express a delicate factory, contemporary, but inscribed in the historical tradition of the city of Bath. A balcony on the river Avon, sustainable through its enduring quality, the bridge will become a new symbol of Bath’s relationship with water.

new Bridge in Bath
Site Plan

The structure of the footbridge is composed of two lateral main girders completed by transversal steel plates used for lateral stiffness as well as vertical reinforcement of the deck. The transversal tie is reinforced on the abutments and on the pile.  The global behaviour of the structure is assimilated to a continuous Vierendeel type beam. The pile is positioned in order to equilibrate the positive and the negative bending moments. The main girders are reconstructed of 100 mm thick steel plates tied together by vertical members of the same thickness. Source by Marc Mimram.

new Bridge in Bath
Section

Location: Bath UK
Architects: Marc Mimram
Client: Bath & North East Somerset Council
Characteristics Length: 63 m Width : 4.5 m
Main girders: 82.4 ton
Deck reinforcement: 15.2 ton
Pile: 3.6 ton.
Length: 63 m
Width: 4.5m
Cost: 3.5 M€
Year: 2015-2017
Images: Courtesy of Marc Mimram

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