10 September 2013
Design Engine in collaboration with Peter Brett Associates have recently submitted a planning application to Reading Borough Council for a new Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge over the Thames at Reading. The new bridge is part of significant infrastructure improvements to Reading and will provide a much needed link between Caversham and the newly built railway station.
‘Key to the success of the bridge will be the simplicity with which the cables supporting the bridge deck connect to the top of the mast. This is usually resolved with the introduction of a series of triangular cleats welded to the mast creating a ‘bumping’ effect against the sky. However in this case we have avoided this visual intrusion by developing a unique mast profile which in connection with a simple series of steel buttons terminating the cables maintains an elegant uninterrupted mast running from deck to sky. The slenderness of the mast is reinforced further by continuing the two side elements of the main mast structure beyond the line of the last cable, creating a crowning or tuning fork effect, allowing sky to be seen through the mast top.’
