Cloud Bridge

The studio was invited to design a footbridge for the gardens of a stately home in the north of England, to replace a small wooden bridge in a historic rock garden that had a stream running through it. Instead of a conventional bridge, constructed from two structural beams with a separate deck and balustrades added to it, our idea was to use a single structural substance and sculpt the entire bridge, including its deck and balustrades, out of it. To create a bridge that was delicate and floating, rather than solid and heavy, we wondered if it would be possible to fuse hundreds of stainless steel discs to form a structure that resembled a fluttering swarm of butterflies. Although fragile looking, this mass of identical elements creates an efficient triangulated structure, although it does not look triangulated. The bridge would be made by welding together circular plates of metal and applying a glass bead-blasted finish. Rather than being shiny and reflective, each disc would take on a different diffused tone, depending on the angle at which it caught the light.