On Friday, we were tasked to present to our peers and lecturers, Jenny kindly compiled the materials for the poster while myself and Connor worked on the final parts of the model with the Haselwick students. Once complete we sat down in a group and went through what we had to say.
Since having the presentation, it was apparent that we ran out of time, perhaps we needed to time ourselves to make sure we included the most in our presentation without having to go into too much detail.
The lecturers made some good points of which I have discussed below:
Solar Glass
Our coloured glass panels which will be fitted to the helical structure may be able to serve as photovoltaic cells too. In recent times, there have been new developments that involve clear panes of glass acting as photovoltaics. This would be perfect to charge the lighting system and use overnight.
However, despite this, there would still need to be a required service connection onto the local grid. In winter for example, overcast skies and limited daylight could dim the bridge lights significantly. There was also no consideration for animals such as birds that may lay faeces over the panels and stop them from working as efficiently. How is this accessed for cleaning?
Maintenance
Following on from access for cleaning, the mesh like structure will also be a perfect ‘trap’ for leaves and other windswept objects that could get stuck in the mesh. This is only a problem if this can’t be maintained and as this is a busy road, access for maintenance could in fact be a problem.
The best solution we had was to remove the mesh structure and instead provide a much larger helix gap with parapets on the main deck to stop pedestrians falling off the structure.
Reusable Water
Given the loads can be altered to take this weight, the bridge could also act as a massive water storage tank for local use water. Perhaps instead of draining into the local network, it would be wiser to store such water for use in the development. This will obviously have to be treated and cleaned before use within residential and commercial units.
Connection into Student Accommodation
What was also not considered was perhaps another ramp connecting directly into student halls. Perhaps the layout of these buildings could create positive space that could direct occupants into using the bridge more frequently.
Materials
Stainless steel/ stainless steel alloys are quite expensive, perhaps using recycled materials and materials that are more commercially available would be a more sustainable way to construct the bridge.
Different Surfaces
Instead of dropping the deck to include cyclists, perhaps using different materials on each path would be more suitable. For example, using a cobbled/rougher material for pedestrians and a smoother one for cyclists. This would create the split without the need for change in levels.
Channel Drains
Instead of using channel drains, perhaps a material that is porous and light would be better for surface water drainage. This would also make it far easier to suspend but also require a lesser need for a gradient across the width of the bridge deck.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if we then had another week to use these improvements and create another model, we would be able to include a more overall comfortable and sustainable design that could not only stand over time but also provide to the needs of the end user in a more suitable way.