Wednesday, 9th & Thursday 10th November 2016: Day 3 + Day 4

The Modelling Workshop

An update on our group-work status to Dr Poorang in studio M21 Cockcroft preceded our day in the modelling workshop. Our young team members from Hazelwick school joined us. Damian and I quickly ran through the final designs; especially the deck design before cracking on the model. All the material we required was brought from home and tools were borrowed from Dave; the fun-loving technician and workshop co-ordinator. We were to produce two models; one that was a complete footbridge in association with site; and the other a large scale model of a design detail. We agreed that one youngster would work on the 1:10 scale detailed model with Damian and the other two would help me in making the site model. A 600×1200 mm size base cut out of chipboard was provided for our site models. Taylor wrapped the edges of the board with masking tape so no one would get splinters in their fingers. I did some quick single line CAD drawings which would help in building an accurate model.

frame27

Single line CAD drawings helped in building an accurate model (Smita, 2016)

Our chosen materials for modelling were: mount-board, foam-board to represent steel plate construction, thin square sections of sticks, wire to represent cable, nails for connectors, sawdust for surface finish, PVA glue and UHU glue, transparent plastic sheet for glass, aluminium paint on steel sections (to be used only outside the workshop for health and safety reasons), and foam-board, paint and coloured paper for the site and topography. Taylor’s cutting techniques were much admired by Damian while Katie and Joe used their fine motor skills on delicate sections like the staircase, stairwell and the bridge deck railings. Damian managed to give the final touches to the detailed model that he was working on, while the complete model with site was still in its infancy. Before Hazelwick left for the day, I instructed our group members on preparing for the presentation for the day after.

frame28

Modelling Workshop: Materials to be used for model making (Smita, 2016)

 

frame29

Modelling Workshop: (Left) Structural system for the bridge taking shape, (Right) Taylor working on the bridge deck detailed model (Smita, 2016)

 

frame30

Modelling Workshop: (Left) Katie working on the staircase block & (Right) Joe working on the deck section for the main model (Smita, 2016)

 

frame31

Modelling workshop: Bridge deck section detailed model (scale 1:10) was built by Damian and Taylor and completed before end of the day (Smita, 2016)

 

Highlights and learning from Day 3

Today my work-assigning ability was put to test. I had to focus on my own work as model making requires concentration and proficiency. At the same time, I had to make sure that the tasks assigned to our young members were being executed well and that they had enough work so we could make the most out of their time! The youngsters outperformed our expectations and both Damian and I were pleased with their work. My previous experience in model making proved handy while Damian improved on his technique. Dave the technician kept us entertained and we received plenty of moral support from Dr Poorang and Mr. Noel Painting.

Our detailed model was ready and most components of our larger model had taken shape. The challenge of putting everything together awaited.

Execution Day Challenges:

Early in the morning on Thursday, I visited the student shop in Mithras house to procure some more material that was required to build the base and the site topography. I had informed Damian beforehand about my delayed arrival due to the detour and found him waiting in the modelling studio when I finally got in at twenty past nine. Since he had completed the detailed model the previous day, we decided that he would start working on the write-up for our poster while I continued working on the main model. He remained in the workshop so he could help me as and when required.

After 2-2 ½ hours of work, I started feeling dizzy and realised that I would not be able to continue working. It would also be dangerous to work in that state for health and safety reasons. Damian figured that something was not right with me and when I informed him about my health, he got a bit worried. I went up to Dr Poorang’s office to inform him about the situation but he was not in and so was the case with Mr. Noel Painting. Apparently my health had gone down due to lack of sleep the previous night as I was too anxious about the following day. Damian and I decided that it was best for me to go home and I offered to take all the material required for the model and continue working at home as soon as I felt better. Damian in the meantime would work on the poster content and email it to me so I could compile it using Adobe in-design. Damian sent across the poster content by late afternoon.

On reaching home, I tried to rest but could not so. I worked on the model all afternoon preparing the base along with the topography. It was important to detail the topography since the ramp lengths, especially on the Mithras house side, were dependent on it. I completed the bridge sections and cut out ramps out of mount board.  With all four columns and staircase/lift blocks in place and ramps attached to the platform, the model took a defined shape just after midnight.

I did not realize that I dozed off on the couch when I sat there to get a little rest. 45-50 minutes of sleep felt good and then I continued to work on the model connecting the two deck sections to it and trying to find suitable material that would represent the steel cables.

Highlights and learning from Day 4

Important issues like health must not be neglected. Sometimes, the most unexpected situations cause disruption in work. It is important to stay committed and meet work deadlines. Care and compassion for co-workers makes a team stronger.

 

Tuesday, 8th November 2016: Day 2

Design Formulation

By Tuesday morning, I had received emails from two members of Hazelwick with their precedent studies and a design sketch from one of them. The emails were proof of their involvement and an interest to learn.

katie1

Bridge idea: Katie suggested that our bridge must connect Mithras House, Preston Barracks and the Watts Building (Illustration by Katie)

frame22

Damien’s initial sketches of the bridge form (Illustrations by Damien)

 

frame21

Initial sketches: ideas to establish a design and structural form for our pedestrian & cyclist bridge (Illustrations by Smita)

 

I met Damian in studio M21, equipped with what I had sketched the previous evening. A long session of integrating both our design ideas followed. We looked up the manual on ‘Design criteria for footbridges’ (Vol.2 Section 2, Part 8 BD29/04) prepared by the Highways Agency, in accordance with the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and DRD. This manual became the reference for our bridge design criteria right form dimensional standards to material specifications. We also read the relevant sections of the Building regulations approved documents Part A, H, K, M, N and regulation 7. A link to the ‘Preston Barracks Planning Brief’ prepared by Brighton & Hove City Council, in partnership with the University of Brighton was posted in one of the presentation slides from the previous day. This document helped in assessing the future footfall and the pedestrian traffic flow patterns, which helped us in establishing the most suitable location for our proposed bridge.

ad-all

Building Regulations Approved Documents A, H, K, M, and Regulation 7, sections of which we found relevant to the design of bridges

 

 

008

Manual on ‘Design criteria for footbridges’ (Vol.2 Section 2, Part 8 BD29/04) prepared by the Highways Agency, in accordance with the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and DRD

frame33

preston-barracks

Planning Brief for Preston Barracks prepared by the Brighton and Hove City Council

 

frame23

Sketches illustrating an established location for the bridge, approximate span and minimum clearance required from the top of the road surface (Illustrations by Smita)

 

site1

Sketch showing proposed location of our bridge in relation to the Watts car park, Mithras House car park (Illustration by Smita)

 

006

Our final proposed design for the pedestrian and cyclist footbridge connecting the Watts car park and Mithras House car park (Illustration by Smita)

 

111

Final detailed proposal (Illustration by Smita)

By midday we were ready with a full sketch proposal for the footbridge. At our request, Dr Poorang accompanied us to the ‘pod’ on the Cockcroft mezzanine where we discussed our proposal in detail. He gave us sufficient time to explain the whole design to him and then came up with very significant questions. He interrogated us on the design, suitability of the structural form, ramp lengths, material to be used for construction, method of construction, conformity with building regulations. etc. He even ran his own calculation for determining the ramp length in accordance with the Highway Design manual! I believe he was satisfied with all the work we had done thus far. By this time Damian had prepared his own list of questions on topics that he was unsure of during the meeting. We spent some time clarifying the thoughts that clouded his mind then broke for lunch. Mr. Noel Painting paid a visit to the studio later in the afternoon. He looked impressed with the design proposal and even gave us some fantastic ideas when he saw us struggling to accommodate the ramps. At one point he tried in vain to stray us away from our original design idea 🙂 but later confessed that he was only kidding! Mr. Noel Painting is a source of energy and motivation.

100

Dimensions for the proposed bridge (Illustration by Smita)

sketch1Dr Poorang’s inputs from that morning guided us in detailing out buildability and construction materials for our bridge. Our bridge would be 3.5 m wide and 46 m in span. It will be a cantilevered suspension system built in steel. A minimum of 1.4 m height railing will be required since cyclist will also be using the bridge. Deck will be pre-fabricated in two parts and lifted in position using mobile cranes stationed inside the car parking area. This will prevent any major disruption in traffic as the lifting can be done in turn for each side and for the few hours required for the lift, one half of the road can be used for traffic movement. The two deck sections will be bolted where they meet in the centre using heavy steel plate connectors of suitable thickness and bolts. A similar connection system between two deck halves is adopted for the cantilever style Kingsgate footbridge in Durham designed by Ove Arup.

The rest of the afternoon was spent designing a suitable deck structure and detailing the drainage, lighting, surface finish etc. By this time, Damian had proved that he was a hardworking and diligent co-worker and I was enjoying working with him. We reworked the ramp lengths to a gradient of 1:12 with intermediate landings as the original 1:20 gradient that we had hoped to provide was not feasible. Although our structural, form and material detailing was more conceptual than technical, we were confident that all of it was practical, safe and buildable. Before winding up for the evening, we discussed the materials for model making and realized that both of us had some leftovers from the previous BE249 project. We would both bring in material from home and buy more as and when required.

frame24

Designing sketches for the bridge deck (Illustrations by Smita)

 

frame26

Designing sketches for the bridge deck (Illustrations by Damian)

 

frame25

Our final design for the bridge deck (Illustrations by Smita)

 

Highlights and learning from Day 2

I learnt that the more time you spend with someone, the more you get to know about the person and his qualities. I did not know Damian more than what he had himself described during the introductory lecture of BE249 course. Within two days I had started to admire him as a hardworking, eager to learn and a committed person. A positive input, admiration and moral support from Mr. Noel Painting and Dr Poorang made our day. Well begun is half done!

By the end of the day we had accomplished the following tasks:

  • Established the best location for our footbridge
  • Finalized our proposed design for the footbridge including the width, span and height
  • Made sure that the design, materials and structure were compliant with Standards for Highway BD29/04 and all relevant sections of building reg. approved documents
  • Detailed the deck design including handrail height and material for construction
  • Discussed the most suitable, cost-effective lifting solution for the deck sections that would cause minimum traffic disruptions
  • Discussed materials that we would be using for model making.

 

Monday 7th November 2016: Day 1

The lay of the land

The atmosphere in the studio was exciting and positive. We were joined by Taylor, Joe and Katie, the Hazelwick students, who travelled by train to Moulsecoomb. We introduced ourselves and I found them to be friendly and buzzing with energy.

img_0269

Presentation by Dr Poorang and Mr. Noel Painting in the M21 Cockcroft studio (Smita, 2016)

The opening presentation by Dr Poorang and Mr. Noel Painting outlined the design brief and the duo went on to show us chosen precedent examples from around the world to manifest our task. Our group was to design a pedestrian and cyclist bridge linking the two sides of the Moulsecoomb Campus for the University of Brighton. The design brief challenged us to design a creative, innovative, flexible, safe, sustainable and secure bridge design which would most importantly be functional!

A site visit was scheduled after the opening presentation and we put on our hi-vizs to address health and safety as we would be walking down the busy Lewes road across to Mithras House. Site visits help kick-start the process of imagination and the visualization of a building or structure that does not exist, in the location where it will be built in the future. Guess this is an ability that designers master over years of learning and experience!

img_0285

360° Panoramic view of the site from Mithras House side showing Preston Barracks site across the road and Watts and Cockcroft buildings to the far right (Smita, 2016)

 

img_0290

View of the Mithras House car parking lots at two different levels (Smita, 2016)

img_0293

Group walking back to the studio after the site visit (Smita, 2016)

During lunchtime I went over the design brief one more time with the team to make sure everybody understood it and answered some project related questions that the team asked. This was a good time to assign tasks to the Hazelwick students. I asked them to (a) undertake at least one precedent study each explaining in detail what kind of information must be gathered and (b) come up with a sketch of what they think our bridge must look like. All this was to be co-ordinated through email as these students would not be available for day 2. Lunch hour was followed by an introduction to Edu-blog by Marion and Jayson from our IT department, as we all were to independently maintain a blog to document our daily activities and learning.

img_0310

Dr Pierfrancesco Cacciola during his presentation on ‘Structures and Footbridges’ (Smita, 2016)

Dr Pierfrancesco Cacciola, assistant head of SET school and with a PhD in Structural Engineering, enlightened us with the basics of structural design in buildings with his presentation. The Hazelwick students left soon after this as they had to catch a train to get back.

An induction session by Dr Poorang to the modelling studio in the Heavy Engineering Department followed. Safety briefing was done that made us aware of the workspace rules and safety measures. We were introduced to the material and tools that would be at our disposal over the next four days. Any additional material required would be procured by us and the university would reimburse for the purchase of a maximum of £20.

By 4:00 pm the presentations and induction sessions came to an end and marked the beginning of our concept designs. Both Damian and I sat together and assimilated and processed the information that was provided to us since the start of the day. We looked up many bridge examples that were shown in the presentations and some more.

The ones that particularly interested us were 1. Forth Bridge, Edinburgh, 2. Millau Viaduct, France, 3. The Kingsgate footbridge, Durham, and 4. London Millennium Footbridge, London.

forth-bridge

Forth Bridge, Edinburgh: A Scottish icon that is recognised the world over as the most famous of cantilever designs. The world’s first major steel structure and longest cantilever bridge. (Forth Bridges Forum, 2015)

 

millauviaduct1

The Millau Viaduct, France: A cable-stayed, masted structure with the highest pylons in the world, the highest road bridge deck in Europe (Foster & Partners, 2004)

 

kg_bridge1

Kingsgate Footbridge Bridge, Durham: The bridge was cast in two cantilevered halves and rotated out from the river banks. Total span 106.7m (Arup, 2015)

milleniumbridge1

London Millennium Footbridge: Two Y-shaped armatures support eight cables that run along the sides of the 4-metre-wide deck, while steel transverse arms clamp on to the cables at 8-metre intervals to support the deck (Foster & Partners, 2000)

Having gathered enough information from precedent studies and equipped with a basic idea of the behaviour of structural elements we parted ways to go home and give shape to the grand ideas hatching in our minds! Damian looked visibly excited as bountiful bridge design ideas came to him! That evening I sketched out what was till then only a concept in my mind.

Highlights and learning from Day 1

The introduction by Dr Poorang and Mr. Noel Painting did not just outline the design brief, it provided useful and important information on bridge design that was relevant to our project. Similarly, the lecture presentation by Dr Cacciola was particularly helpful to the 6th form Hazelwick students who had no exposure to the knowledge of building structures.

The site visit helped in giving a direction towards actualization of the project. It is important to ‘feel’ and understand the geography, geology and local architecture of the site before introducing a new built form into it.

Precedent studies help to determine the suitability of a design both in terms of form and structure. They also provide a good start to the thought process.

Although Hazelwick students were not joining us the next day, we decided to keep in touch via emails. Technology plays an important role in today’s world and provides seamless communication.

 

 

 

Group 6 – Newport Transporter: Introduction

During the design week held between 7th – 11th November, 2016, at the University of Brighton (UoB), we had to undertake an architectural design project that required designing, preparation of a physical model and preparation of a poster explaining the design and the model making process. The project was planned as a group activity and also involved a presentation by each group to a jury panel on the final day. Our group consisted of two members from the UoB including myself and three 6th form members from Hazelwick School; who joined us on Monday, Wednesday and for the presentation on Friday. I had been appointed as the group in-charge.

www-newport-gov-uk

View of the Newport Transporter Bridge (Newport City Council, 2016)

newport-transporter2

Newport Transporter Bridge: Gondola suspended on cables (Newsquest Wales, July 2015)

All the groups were named after prominent bridges for motivation and to provide a professional feel. Our group was named as the ‘Newport Transporter’. Transporter bridges are movable bridges that work like ferries suspended on cables slung from tall towers, and are used to move people and goods from one bank of a river to the other. This arrangement allows for ships to pass underneath and eliminates the need to build long approach ramps that are otherwise required to build a conventional bridge that high. The gondola or platform is pulled using hauling cables attached to the motors running it.

 

DESIGN WEEK 2016

GROUP 3!

Day 1: MONDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2016

On the first day of this project I was really excited to learn about the variety of techniques and designs associated with making Bridges. We were placed in groups of three  of Brighton’s own University students and three Hazelwick students but this week only involved two Uni students Chris and Chilli and three Hazelwick students including myself, Tracey and Lewis. There was a small presentation about different foot / cycle Bridges and how they are reinforced and the importance of reinforcements such as being cable-Stayed. As a group we exchanged contact details and talked about the task, the five of us later went out to take pictures of where this Bridge is going to be made and positioned. We discussed the requirements of having suitable access for everyone going to PB or the university buildings also considering the height requirements. Returning back to the drawing room, a lecture was held about different types of Bridges e.g. Truss Bridges for example; along with their mechanical properties and the need for forces to be balanced.

 bridge

Day 2: WEDNESDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2016

The Second day involved the groups working in the Design Studio. This is where we discussed out the plan of action for producing the model of the Bridge and surrounding buildings. We gathered card, dowel, foam board, blades and glue to use as we build our structure. We were in the studio all day, creating and recreating buildings that were out of scale from error or thick cardboard; but we worked as a team to try and get the model done. We all had chosen tasks for each other to do; for example Lewis traced footprints of the buildings whilst Tracey and I cut out the cardboard. Chris organised the poster for our presentation on Friday whilst Chilli helped the rest of us with measuring the heights for the models of the university buildings.

 20161109_114622

Day 3: FRIDAY 11TH NOVEMBER 2016

Before presentations, myself and the rest of the team where in the studio where we hot glued string onto the decking of our Bridge model which represents the supports. We also added the finish touches to the model and went back to the Drawing room. There we discussed the important aspects of our ideas that we needed to get across to the listeners before the presentations began at 11:00am. The presentation went exceptionally well, we finished more or less exactly on time using the full 10 minutes.

2016-11-11-10-06-04

 

 

 

 

Joel Bontemps’ Blog:

Monday 7th November 2016
On the first day of our trip to Brighton University for an architectural design week, we were first given a brief on what the project would be and a schedule pack on the events of the week. We also were put in groups, 3 university students and 3 hazelwick students (including me). However, due to complications one member of the group (a hazelwick student) had to leave the process. Hence, this meant that as a group we would have to work harder to catch up on what would have been a team of 6. In our groups, we then attended an informative lecture on our task giving us an introduction to bridges, e.g. the different types of bridges. When we got back into our groups we visited the site to where our bridge would be placed, which also gave us ideas on what our bridge would look like and how we would design it for Fridays presentation. At the end of the day, our group captain gave us individual tasks to do for the next time we would meet (which was Wednesday the same week). My task was to design a few initial ideas of bridges and to do further research on bridges (especially footbridges) and to see whether they are compression or tension bridges.

Wednesday 9th November 2016
On the second day of the architectural design project to Brighton University, everyone had to bring in the work they needed to complete so that we could embark on the next task. Each member from the group I was in, had designed some initial designs of bridges and my teammate and I brought in the further research we needed to do. The university teammates had the measurements of what size the bridge should be, as the final model would have to be at a specific scale. In addition, another member of the group brought in the materials needed to design the model. During the course of the day the team captain gave us new tasks for the day. Two of us were working on the model; first making a draft model to see if the design would work, two others working on the poster and I was doing most of the sketching for our final bridge design.

Friday 11th November 2016
For the last day of the design week, when we arrived at the university and met up with the rest of the group, everyone was finishing the last few bits of their individual tasks. For example after our model had been assembled, my teammate spray painted the model silver to represent the material steel as it was the main material of our final bridge design. Furthermore the team captain and another partner were adding the last parts to the poster and I was finishing the sketch of my group final design. Almost one hour before the presentations, my group and I had finished all our tasks and we prepared for our presentation.
Overall this architectural design week has shown me the tremendous amount of hard work needed to successfully reach a standard university level, and that effort really does achieve.

20161113-174454.jpg

20161113-174517.jpg

20161113-174544.jpg

20161113-174603.jpg

20161113-174632.jpg

20161113-174646.jpg

20161113-174709.jpg

20161113-174727.jpg

20161113-174743.jpg

20161113-174804.jpg

20161113-174905.jpg

20161113-174916.jpg

20161113-174932.jpg

20161113-174950.jpg

20161113-175022.jpg

20161113-175035.jpg

Design week- day 3

The majority of day 3 was spent creating a scale model representation of the bridge, which our Brighton university teammates had designed during day two. We did this using card board and foam board.

One of the main concerns when modeling was making sure the bridge was in scale with the plan view map 1:100. Also using the measurements of building we began creating a topographic map, which featured surrounding building within the university campus.

snapchat-6776171656250316733

An issue we did face was picking the correct scale, to represent the changes in ground level and building elevation.

Day 5 – Summary of the week

This blog entry will be a summary of the week. We faced many challenging moments but equally many positive. As a team we worked well, all contributing something to the group. Resulting in what I believe to be, the creation of a unique and workable design.
Unfortunately though, it must be commented on that our time management let us down, which was evident in our final model.

20161113-153604.jpg
Nevertheless, this was our first group presentation and what we did produce was carefully thought out.
Another challenge we faced, was the process in reaching our final design concept. Originally we were very focused on the artistic aspect and created designs that ended up not feasible. Our focus was on ‘form over function’ and this was something we had to address. In the end though, I believe not getting it right the first time was actually beneficial to us, as it meant our final idea was both interesting and practical. Having been well informed and had all elements involved, explored and researched thoroughly. The image below illustrates our developmental process as a group.

20161113-160322.jpg
I learnt a lot from the week, starting with the importance of delegation within a group when undertaking something similar to this. It also made me more aware of how recognising others strengths and weaknesses can lead to a better outcome as the delegation of tasks is more effective. Moreover, listening to others present was highly insightful. It highlighted good and bad presentation techniques, which will definitely stay with me and hopefully help me in future presentations, to produce the best speech in order to really sell the design.
Finally, I learnt more about my own skills and feel that my illustrations and presentation of ideas is a particularly strong point of mine. However, my delivery in speaking about our design could be improved upon, in order to make future presentations sound more confident and professional.
Overall, the week for me was a definite success and I am pleased about the task that was set.

20161113-160558.jpg

13 Alex Judd – Improvements Post Presentation

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.

Alex Judd 12 – Application of Research into Model

Introduction

Applying the research we have undertaken into a comprehensive model at a 1:75 scale can be tricky, especially with the limited time and resources we had available. In this post I hope to clearly show where we have applied our research and knowledge into the model and how, given we had more time, would we improve on presentation.

Topography

The topography was made of black and white card which we supported with cardboard and foam board. This not only provided a sturdy base but also helps ‘dull’ the background to really bring out the bridge itself. The contrast of the white tipex on the black card also really helped for defining lines on the road.

Given we had more time, despite the intention to ‘dull’ the background, we could apply modelling materials such as grass and concrete to really bring out the aesthetics of the surroundings. We would also do a more thorough analysis into topography so that we could really define the levels clearly, such as kerb drops, road gradient and hoarding.

img_0998

Foundation

The research we undertook into the foundations showed us clearly that we needed to show a pad foundation with 2x supports going into each foundation. For the pad itself Jenny proposed we should use wooden blocks. We all agreed as this would clearly show where these would be located and would also provide a suitable base for our model. We also decided to glue the white card onto the blocks to match in with the background.

Similarly with the topography, using modelling material to represent concrete would also be good here as it would help people understand the kind of material we are using in this case.

img_1003

Supports

The bolts for the support I felt were a good representation of what we were proposing and even with better materials, it wouldn’t feel as ‘structural’ as the bolts made it out to be.

The difficulty came with drilling holes into the drain pipe that formed the base of the deck. These were hard to drill close together without connecting and so we decided to produce our ‘v’ shape not across the width of the bridge but down the length of it instead.

img_0999

Drainage and Ramp

We did not produce a ramp in the end as we felt there were too many options for this given the uncertainty of both developments. Therefore showing the drainage as described in the ‘drainage strategy’ blog would be hard without a staircase. I believe using art straws was the best approach here but perhaps with a ramp we could show how this will be hidden and connect into the ramp structure to drain into the local network.

Bridge

The bridge was the hardest part to model. The mesh and the helical structure I felt weren’t represented as well aesthetically however I do believe the materials and size were presented perfectly. As an improvement, given we had more time, we could look into producing a helical structure ourselves using steel rods and wire. I believe with the time frame this was achieved well.

img_1008