When presenting on the Friday, I spoke about structural materials. This involved those both real and for the model. The 3 most essential elements to consider were the deck, piers and our roofing structure. All of which, involved some in depth research and below I am going to outline our choices, beginning with the deck.
DECK
• Real: Our material choice here was concrete for its longevity and low maintenance, attributing to its economical benefits. Further to this, the option for it to be precast is ideal for quick construction of the bridge, an essential factor in this instance, due to the busy nature of Lewes Road.
•Model: Foam modelling board illustrated the deck for us. It was the best option because of its ease to cut and shape. Moreover, its rigidity provided a solid base to work the rest of our model around.
PIERS
•Real: Galvanised steel would provide our structure with the appropriate support. As a material it has many measurable benefits including longevity and resistance to corrosion/ moisture. The erection of galvanised steel components is also very efficient.
Model: Wooden dowel was used to demonstrate the placement of supports in our model. The reason we chose to work with wood, was because we needed different lengths and knew that wooden dowel would be quick to cut, shape and could be glued easily with a glue gun. It would also be able to take the load of the foam modelling board and other model materials with ease.
ROOFING
•Real: This was probably the toughest decision to make and consequently more time was spent researching materials and similar existing structures. Our end decision was primarily informed by looking back at two of our earlier precedent studies; The Webb in Melbourne and the Peace Bridge in Calgary. By considering them and using our own knowledge and ideas we decided upon toughened glass, supported by a steel framework with a protective sheeting/ layer over the glass areas; for vandalism and health and safety purposes. Toughened glass would allow us to achieve the modern and open space we had envisioned, whilst also being a feasible choice due to its properties including being a thermal resistant glass.
•Model: Plastic sheeting was the obvious choice to make this design work in model form. It’s flexibility made it perfect to create the curvature and it could be held to the deck easily with the use of a glue gun. More wooden dowel was used to represent the steel framework. Unfortunately due to time management, our model did not reflect our design and its potential. However, our ideas were all well informed and illustrated in the form of drawings.
