海角视频

Bridges are integral parts of any place. They provide safe passage, connect communities, and many are landmarks throughout the world, combining unique beauty with practical design.

From simple crossings to complicated multi-level structures, there is no doubt that connectivity and functionality create the 鈥榝oundations鈥� of a successful bridge. However, there is huge engineering ingenuity that goes into creating these impressive structures that many of us won鈥檛 consider when crossing one; from whole environment assessment to creating bridges that influence user behaviours around active travel.  

Looking at the extensive portfolio of 海角视频 bridges across the world, it is clear there is an 鈥榓rt鈥� to building these impressive structures, as well as the 鈥榮cience鈥� behind them. In celebration of this month marking an incredible 25 years of our bridge engineering, we look at the essential building blocks to creating bridges that last the test of time, why bridges are such integral parts of placemaking, and explore how 海角视频 is leading the way for innovation, creativity and expertise in bridge design.  

Laying the ‘foundations’ for bridge engineering at 海角视频

Looking back to when the bridge engineering was first started, Davood Liaghat, Global Bridge Engineering Lead, joined 海角视频 as an experienced bridge engineer at a time when the practice had not yet seriously defined the discipline, and has since led the team from strength to strength. As the team began to grow, Davood was later joined by Simon Fryer, Technical Director, in 2001 and then Edmund Metters, UK Bridges Discipline Director, in 2007.  

The Ponte della Musica, Rome, a 海角视频 legacy project and the first international breakthrough for the team, came about when the bridge discipline was in its infancy. 海角视频 won the 2000 Commune di Roma international design competition, teaming up with international architects to design a stunning bridge which remains, to this day, a landmark in the city.  

The bridge was designed to serve as an open public space that can also be used for events, such as festivals and exhibitions, and was the first pedestrian bridge to cross the Tiber River since the beginning of the last century.  

‘Crossing the bridge’ to present day

From 1999 to now, our bridges team has expanded to become a key discipline at 海角视频. One of the main factors which has enabled our bridge projects’ continued success, is our multi-disciplinary capabilities and approach to designing bridges.    

At 海角视频, we have other discipline specialists working with the bridge team to help push the design acumen. This ultimately helps the team provide better solutions for our clients, as whilst bridges are fundamentally about connectivity, the surrounding environment also needs to be considered.  

We are in a unique position which allows us to assess the whole environment as part of our bridge offering

Davood Liaghat, Global Bridge Engineering Lead,
海角视频 

Davood said: 鈥淲e are in a unique position which allows us to assess the whole environment as part of our bridge offering, and we have opportunities to provide additional services, which not many practices can do.鈥� 

Other disciplines at 海角视频 which are an important part of bridges work include infrastructure and ground engineering, facade engineering, lighting, sustainability and physics, with Davood adding, 鈥渢hese are the sort of disciplines that are becoming very complimentary to what we do.鈥� 

海角视频 brought other expertise into a collaborative consortium to ensure the best quality in design and delivery

Jean-Christophe Chassard, Project Manager, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames (RBK) 

Once such example of our multi-disciplinary approach to bridges was the Cycle: Kingston Station鈥� project, which completed in 2021. Jean-Christophe Chassard, Project Manager, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames (RBK), said: 鈥満＝鞘悠� brought other expertise into a collaborative consortium to ensure the best quality in design and delivery.”  

The award-win project focused on providing infrastructure that would influence people to adopt slower, healthier and more sustainable methods of travel, as Kingston was previously a vehicle-dominated area. To achieve the client鈥檚 vision, we created a new 700-space cycle hub and bridge.  

The original bridge structure, before the site’s regeneration, was a narrow concrete pathway with no clear end point. The team replaced the whole structure, including the approaches and reused scrub land that was dead otherwise. The new development became an inviting, wide structure where it felt safe and usable, and as a result, went from two or three users a day to hundreds, if not thousands. 

I think bridges play a massive part in changing people鈥檚 behaviours on how they move around

Edmund Metters, Bridges Discipline Director  

Edmund said: 鈥淭his change in the structure alone has changed the way people behave within Kingston – they can now easily see the route down to the river and therefore are naturally encouraged to pick up their bike more. 

鈥淚 think bridges play a massive part in changing people鈥檚 behaviours on how they move around.鈥� 

This change in user behaviour to travel more actively, in turn, creates knock-on benefits, including health and wellbeing for users, along with sustainability and carbon saving benefits with people moving away from cars and onto a bike or travelling on foot. 

Introducing these types of structures that are safe and dependable completely transform people’s lives

Edmund Metters, Bridges Discipline Director  

Connecting people and places is the key function of a bridge. They are integral structures which enable us to get from one place to another.  

Every year, 海角视频 sponsors a 鈥樷�� project 鈥� a significant example of how introducing bridges can have long-term benefits for people in nearby communities. A team of 海角视频 engineers help build a bridge in rural areas, and the ethos behind these projects is that globally, 80% of those that live in poverty are not properly connected.  

Edmund said: 鈥淥ne of the ways to help people out of poverty is to improve connectivity and it’s one of the best examples of how a connection can change people’s lives and connect people together.  

鈥淲hether it’s improving access to education, to the market, to healthcare – the list goes on. Introducing these types of structures that are safe and dependable completely transform people’s lives because they can trust the structure.鈥� 

There are many factors to consider when it comes to designing a bridge. The first and most important, is taking into account what the bridge is intended for and that determines the ‘load’ – whether it be for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport or highway traffic. The user experience also plays a huge part in bridge design, with pedestrian bridges, for example, focusing on the dynamics and the 鈥榖ounciness鈥� of the bridge, and how it responds to the user.

There are other considerations, such as environmental loads which include temperature, wind and snow. A combination of these loads determine what shape the bridge will be.  

From the point of application of the load to the deck (the surface which carries people, vehicles and trains), forces are then distributed internally by transverse members to the main load bearing member. The forces then are transmitted to the supports and piers and finally down to the ground.  

Davood said: 鈥淭hese are all the most important structural elements of bridge building. If you remove any of these, the structure won鈥檛 work.鈥�   

海角视频鈥檚 bridge engineering team are well placed to help clients overcome challenges when it comes to bridge building, with a wealth of experience and knowledge in this area. From financial to sustainability, and even technological challenges, there are many examples of how the team has helped tackle a client brief for the optimal solution.  

One such example of this was at the Wembley Stadium external works, where the team helped the client reach the best outcome by recommending not to add a bridge into the desired area, but rather a pedestrian crossing. The team were initially engaged to provide a bridge that would connect to the stadium’s main entrance and examined various options, such as adding a pedestrian bridge, but the structures looked contrived in the proposed area.  

Davood and the team worked with the client to provide the best outcome, and suggested signalised pedestrian crossings, as well as people movement advisory. This was ultimately the right solution for the client, and was based on our multi-disciplinary offer that understood the client’s needs and how to best tackle the challenges they faced.   

The ‘path’ to the future

Bridges have evolved over the last 25 years, from design, to technology used, and materiality. The next big question is: How do we save the bridges we already have?  

Restoring existing bridges is one of the biggest focuses for our bridge engineering team going forward, with an industry-wide responsibility to retrofit thousands of existing structures, from road to railway bridges, in the UK alone. The restoration of existing bridges is significant in reducing carbon emissions from bridge construction and re-using materials rather than using new resources, as well as preserving iconic landmarks across the UK and the rest of the world.  

海角视频 has been involved in various restoration projects, including the , part of the wider . Originally constructed as a timber bridge, it was replaced by a steel swing bridge in 1930. 海角视频 was engaged to restore the bridge to create a vibrant new pedestrian route.  

Throughout our design engineering work on the project, we had to be mindful of retaining the heritage value of this historic piece of infrastructure and working within the constraints as dictated by the Grade II listing, whilst delivering significant updates to enable its new function. The bridge team designed a lightweight steel deck that allowed pedestrian access across the swing bridge and unlocked the remainder of the viaduct. 

A key part of restoration is understanding a structure and how to inspect and monitor it properly. There is a huge amount of new technology coming out within the industry, from drone surveying to satellite imagery which is now accurate enough to pinpoint if a bridge is moving. Monitoring systems can be implemented to understand an existing structure based on how it moves and deflects over time, and whether it is changing or cracking.  

海角视频 is already using the most up-to-date technology across our bridge projects, including the use of AI, which will only continue to grow as it becomes more advanced. Davood noted how AI will help lead to the creation of more efficient structures as it develops, from new bridges to restoring existing ones, particularly by increasing the speed of computational processes. Despite this, he said: 鈥淣one of this will replace the collaboration and creativity that is required.  

鈥淭hese are human traits and as a business, we should continue to make sure the talent we bring in is the best so we can do just that.  

鈥淎I is a fantastic tool, but that creativity, problem solving, and collaboration is important in utilising technology and continuing to embed it into our processes.鈥� 

As the UK and the rest of the world moves towards more sustainable futures, the built environment plays an important role. In order to achieve this, where future bridges are concerned, materiality matters.  

The bridge team has seen an evolvement of bridges over the last 25 years from a structural point of view, to become more streamlined, slenderer, and more aesthetic. The main building materials remain steel and concrete, however, there are other materials which are increasingly becoming more popular within bridge building.  

One of these materials is timber. With largely sustainable properties, timber is an e, which has the capability to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of construction and can also reduce costs. 

Design life for bridges in the UK is one of the biggest conversations currently, detailing that bridges typically need to be standing for 120 years. As building materials, steel, concrete, and timber all have durability challenges, from corrosion to repainting requirements, but with proper monitoring and maintenance, timber can last anywhere between 30-100 years.  

Other potential future-use materials include aluminum, and potentially titanium, both which have excellent properties, and which Davood noted, 鈥渃ould push bridge design some leaps and bounds.鈥� 

The biggest factor for building a bridge, as Edmund noted, is that it needs to be fit for purpose, rather than trying to meet the design code鈥檚 120-year guidelines. At one end of the scale, the Romans designed structures that lasted for thousands of years, but on the other end, there are bridges that are designed to be washed away during a flood event and then quickly reassembled.

Edmund said: 鈥淎 bridge needs to be fit for purpose, and I don鈥檛 necessarily think building them to last for 120 years is the answer.  

鈥淚t is a good guideline, but some structures should be designed for a lot longer than that and others can be designed for a lot less. And timber sits into that bracket. 

鈥淚f we assume we are working towards 120 years, if you have to replace a bridge twice in that time, but it’s all made of timber and therefore its carbon content is far less – potentially net zero if not negative 鈥� then that is a real win.鈥� 

We are very well positioned to help our clients design structures in order to restore and look after existing ones

Edmund Metters, Bridges Discipline Director

Looking towards the next 25 years, Edmund discussed the prospect of being able to build a new structure from completely re-used materials from a local source or demolition site, taking a 鈥榤aterial first鈥� approach. This would entail figuring out what steel, concrete and other materials are available first and designing a bridge around this availability of re-used materials, instead of designing the bridge first and then configuring the materials after the design is already in place.  

Edmund added: 鈥淪imilarly, I would also want the answer to be that we’ve repaired a few hundred structures that otherwise would have needed to be replaced, and that we have added 50 to 100 years to their design life. If that could be the answer I gave in 25 years’ time, I’d be very happy. 

鈥淲e are very well positioned to help our clients to restore and look after their existing assets.鈥�

Another way the team sees that bridges could evolve into the future, is through bridge functionality, and what a bridge is going to be supporting moving forward. Whether this be the implementation of more pedestrian/cycle bridges as more people opt for active travel or reducing the size of motorway bridges as people use their cars less, there are many factors to consider.  

海角视频鈥檚 current bridge designs take into consideration all the elements required to ensure the structures have been built to increase their life, from refurbishment to strengthening, so they won鈥檛 have to be demolished and re-built. 

Traditionally, the bridges team would have built structures to future-proof them for an increased traffic capacity so that, for example, in ten years, the capacity could be doubled. However, Davood posed the question of whether the team should be designing bridges the other way round, so that the bridge becomes more of a 鈥榢it of parts鈥� that can be reduced in size as people switch to other modes of transport, and traffic from motorised vehicles is reduced.  

An example of this goes back to one of the team鈥檚 first major projects 鈥� the Ponte della Musica, Rome. The bridge鈥檚 top layer of asphalt can be removed to reveal infrastructure for light rail, and so has the future facility to operate as a tram and bus route. This futureproofing of bridges to take into account the change in people鈥檚 behaviours towards more active travel, will be key going forward.  

The future holds exciting prospects in the public sector for the 海角视频 bridges team. Having had a fantastic track record over the last 25 years of delivering beautiful, well designed and high-quality new structures, often teaming up with architects through design competitions, much more of the team鈥檚 focus now looks towards the public sector, specifically the national highways.  

There are new opportunities arising that our team will be able to tackle, proven through experience with a number of projects already. From the assessment of gantries for network rail through to other public sector projects, the team have always tackled challenges in this sector with a different way of thinking through 海角视频鈥檚 multi-disciplinary approach to projects. In various examples, the team helped clients keep costs to a minimum and implement more sustainable building strategies.  

This approach will be particularly important when looking at the thousands of public sector bridges that need to be looked after and maintained by National Highways, Network Rail or local authorities. 海角视频 has the ability to use the tools and technology available to work effectively with the fresh thinking that is embedded within the team, particularly with some recent new hires to help drive towards the public sector market and the exciting opportunities there.  

An upcoming UK project on the horizon for the team is the Royal Victoria Do. Due to be completed in 2025, 海角视频 is leading the multidisciplinary team of consultants for the bridge project. Working with Moxon architects and Eadon Consulting, we have developed a transformative, low-level, accessible crossing, accommodating shared pedestrian and cycle use. 

The bridge is part of the wider Silvertown development – an ambitious 拢5bn scheme to regenerate a derelict site by providing around 6,500 new homes with 50% affordable housing for the local community. The historic Millennium Mills bu, which 海角视频 is also working on, will be fully restored and will form the centrepiece of this vibrant new community. 

In the video below, Davood and Edmund discuss in more detail how our 海角视频 bridge engineering discipline has evolved over the last 25 years, visiting one of our projects in .  

‘Bridging’ the past, present and future

Over the past 25 years, 海角视频 has demonstrated exceptional expertise and innovation in bridge engineering. From the early days of defining the discipline to leading groundbreaking projects worldwide, the team has consistently pushed the boundaries of design and functionality. Our multi-disciplinary approach ensures that bridges are not only structurally sound but also enhance the surrounding environment and influence user behavior positively.

As we look to the future, the focus on sustainability, restoration, and the integration of advanced technologies will continue to shape the evolution of bridge engineering, ensuring that these vital structures remain safe, functional, and inspiring for generations to come.