The Dinosaur Bridge – Innovation in Structural Form & Fabrication Using Model Making and Prototyping

Abstract

While small, the Dinosaur Bridge demonstrates how close collaboration between the design and fabrication team and a rigorous process of modelmaking and prototyping can create a delicate structure that suggests new ways of generating sculptural form. A team of Tonkin Liu (architects), Arup (structural engineering) and Cake Industries (fabrication and installation) were commissioned by the charitable body that looks after the Victorian Dinosaur sculptures in Crystal Palace Park, London, to improve access for maintenance and educational purposes to the heritage island. By drawing on and abstracting references from the natural world, the team developed a scheme for an eight metre swing bridge that creates a complex sculptural geometry from flat laser cut steel sheet. By cutting a “comb” from a 10 mm thick plate, the cantilever struts, deck stiffeners and balustrade posts could all be folded from a single piece. This framework is attached to a triangular and profiled box girder, creating a structure that is visually striking, with sinusoidal forms that act both visually and structurally. This paper describes the collaborative process of developing the design through understanding and incorporating the fabrication process in the design concept, and working at various physical model scales through to full size testing. The bridge is due to be installed in autumn 2020.

Keywords:

• structural concepts
• planning
• fabrication
• structural models
• moving structures
• aesthetics
• community funding