The landmark bridge improves cycling and pedestrian routes in the city
London-based Matter Architecture, as part of a multidisciplinary team, has completed a new footbridge in the English city of Hull. Named Murdoch’s Connection – after the city’s first female GP, Dr Mary Murdoch – the bridge improves pedestrian and cycle routes over the busy A63 road and helps to reconnect the city centre to the waterfront.
The deck of the 40m span bridge is suspended from a steel arch/shell structure. Defined by a white finish and gently curved appearance, the structure also acts as a canopy and creates sheltered viewpoints at each end.
Both ends of the bridge have been designed as landscaped public spaces, with places to rest and look out over the city. Terraced landscaping screens the traffic while accommodating both stepped and accessible sloping routes up to the bridge.
Fabricated in sections by SH Structures using double-curved steel plate, the 150-tonne bridge structure was assembled near the site then transported down the highway.
‘This project presented a great opportunity to re-establish vital connections across the highway and to create a series of new public places for people to enjoy the city,’ says Jonathan McDowell, director at Matter Architecture, who began the project at former practice McDowell+Benedetti.
‘It’s wonderful to see people beginning to make use of the new routes and viewpoints, and we are proud to see the dramatic form of the bridge already becoming a landmark within the city’s identity.’
Photography by Luke O’Donovan
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