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Latest designs unveiled for a new Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge

Updated proposals for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Thames between Pimlico and Nine Elms have been unveiled today as part of a design competition run by Wandsworth Council.

Published on
July 21, 2015

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Updated proposals for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Thames between Pimlico and Nine Elms have been unveiled today as part of a design competition run by Wandsworth Council.

Londoners are being invited to comment on the four alternative proposals, each of which is being developed by a team of internationally renowned architects and engineers.

The four competing teams were shortlisted earlier this year from among 74 initial competition entries.

Since then the design ideas have been developed further and will be on display at exhibitions in Wandsworth and Westminster in the coming days (details below).  They can be viewed online at http://www.nepbridgecompetition.co.uk/ from 9.30am today.

The feedback received at the exhibitions and online will be fed into the competition’s jury panel which includes Wandsworth Council leader Ravi Govindia, Lambeth Councillor Joanne Simpson, architect Graham Stirk, engineer Henry Bardsley and  Chair of  Cabe at the Design Council Pam Alexander.

The wining team will be named later this year.

The shortlist includes:

  • TEAM 021 : Buro Happold Ltd (lead team) with Marks Barfield Architects, J&L Gibbons Landscape Architects, Gardiner and Theobald
  • TEAM 025 : Bystrup Architecture Design and Engineering (lead team) with Robin Snell & Partners, Sven Ole Hansen ApS, Aarsleff and ÅF Lighting
  • TEAM 047 : Ove Arup & Partners Ltd (lead team) with AL_A, Gross Max, Equals Consulting and Movement Strategies
  • TEAM 080 : Ove Arup & Partners Ltd (lead team) with Hopkins Architects and Grant Associates

Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, said:

“We now have some very exciting and quite spectacular designs on the table. There is still a long way to go but these teams have given us real hope that a solution can be found to the complex challenges involved in creating a new pedestrian and cycle link across this stretch of the river.”

Among the most difficult puzzles for the design teams to overcome is the bridge height which has to rise high above the banks so large vessels can pass beneath. This has to be done without creating too steep a slope for cyclists and pedestrians.

This is though to be the first bridge in the centre of a major world city designed around the needs of cyclists and pedestrians. Bikes and walkers will be travelling in both directions and must be able to get across safely and effectively without coming into conflict.

Other key challenges include:

  • Creating a fitting landmark which is sensitive to the different urban characteristics of each shoreline and elegant in its own right
  • Providing a safe and attractive link for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the river, encouraging sustainable travel between the two banks
  • Complying with the Disability Discrimination Act; ensuring it is accessible to all
  • Minimising the loss of open space and positively enhancing the public realm where it lands on either bank
  • Achieving a safe and efficient integration with the transport network on both banks

A TfL transport study confirms the Nine Elms to Pimlico bridge has a strong business and transport  case and  would provide another valuable route through central London supporting the shift towards zero emission, sustainable travel options.

A £26million contribution is already identified from the development of Nine Elms and the new winning design would be used to lever-in further funding. 

The bridge is part of the infrastructure package needed to support growth in Nine Elms on the South Bank where tens of thousands of new jobs and homes are now being created alongside billions in growth and tax receipts. 

The competition is being managed by Colander and follows OJEU public sector procurement processes so the successful design team can be appointed to the project should it go live. The scheme would need to go through the planning system before it could be built. 

Find out more at http://www.nepbridgecompetition.co.uk/ and view the TfL feasibility study on the Nine Elms on the South Bank website.

EXHIBITIONS

21st & 22nd July, 9:30am – 7:30pm:
The Gallery on the Corner, 155 Battersea Park Road, SW8 4BU

23rd & 24th July, 9:30am – 6:00pm:
Hyde Park Room, Regus Building, 8th Floor, 50 Broadway, SW1H 0RG

ENDS


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