With the winners soon to be announced in Switzerland, we asked two of our most senior Design Team members, Mark Jol and Denis Hartnett, to critique the IABSE Awards finalists for 2024. Do you agree with their assessments?

In the fast-paced worlds of design and construction, it can be very easy to focus purely on your own projects. Design how you’ve always designed, using the same materials and construction methods you’ve always used. Cut, paste, repeat. Yet one of the absolute keys to staying relevant, year after year, is investing the time to look outwards for inspiration; staying abreast of what other best-practice businesses are up to, both here in Australia and also around the world. 

This brings us to the International Association for Bridge & Structural Engineering (IABSE) Awards for 2024. Whilst we wait for the winners to be announced on 12 November in Switzerland, Fleetwood Urban Design Technician, Mark Jol, and Head of Design, Denis Hartnett, have been taking a closer look at the finalists and asking ‘what do we like about these structures?’, ‘what don’t we like?’, ’what can we learn?’ and, perhaps most importantly, ‘could we adapt similar thinking for our own clients here in Australia?’

It’s a hugely subjective exercise, of course. Keep reading to find out what Mark and Denis think of these six amazing access structures. We’d love to know your views, too.

Finalist 1

Name: TAC.T Bridge

Location: Japan

A beautiful timber truss bridge with irregular bracing elements and a modular glass roof, this innovative structure adopts a near-zero carbon approach with low carbon concrete and small diameter timber components - all of which be re-purposed at the end of the bridge’s service life. The lightweight ‘hybrid spiral’ design features a combination of steel rods and steel aggregates with intersections of wood overlapping bolted joints to provide a long and stable span (~19 metres between the intersections).

Mark Jol:

“This bridge is a excellent example of how smart engineering can make use of many small lightweight components that, when used cleverly, and mixed to capitalise on the strengths of each, can come together to make a very strong, robust product. The use of timber in this case also adds a feeling of warmth that harder ‘cold’ materials can never come near to. A very intriguing solution that evokes a sense of wonder and respect for the designers and the asset owners’ vision to provide structure that does more than just provide a practical crossing. Timber is also a very sustainable solution of course, as it is one of the world’s best renewables.”

Denis Harnett:

“Intrigue and clever are two words I would use to describe this structure. Very smart use of lightweight timber, proving that you don’t need big bold steel or concrete for large spans. But to also achieve this type of internal look is what makes this clever. I see myself on this bridge just constantly looking around at how the structure has come together.”

Finalist 2

Name: Nansha Tri-Directional Arch Pedestrian Bridge

Location: Guangzhou, China

China’s first Y-shaped pedestrian bridge. This striking structure spans the Jiaomen River in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and adopts a 120-degree symmetrical three-way beam arch combination at the shortest distance. An elegant steel box girder design with a partial roof, each of the three beams is 86 meters long and 10.2 meters wide with a height of 21 meters. Six invention patents and two utility model patents were applied during its construction.

Mark Jol:

“Wow, what a structure! This bridge looks incredible and so unlikely from an engineering perspective. It immediately sparks your curiosity and imagination and leaves questions, like, What does it look like? Is it from space? How is it holding itself up? and many more finishing with, how much did it cost? Extraordinary vision and a great example of engineering tenacity. The team behind this certainly have the ‘can do’ attitude required to get the job done.”

Denis Harnett:

“This one is a head-scratcher for sure. My immediate response is ‘how have they done that?!’ The bridge almost looks like it is levitating. An incredible structure and one that leaves me wanting to know more about the structural principles that are behind it.”

Finalist 3

Name: Whitegate to Athlone Castle Cyclebridge

Location: County Westmeath, Ireland

Crossing the River Shannon in the Athlone town centre, this elegant two-span bridge stands at a site of important historical interest, and the designers chose a simple minimalist approach with a slender, tapering steel box girder to avoid visual conflict with the adjacent buildings. Predicted dynamic responses demanded the addition of internal ballast concrete to control vibrations, whilst the innovative use of small diameter steel piles further minimises disturbance and negative impacts within the river itself.

Mark Jol:

“Sleek and unobtrusive is the obvious design brief here and the designers nailed it. Slim, elegant and clearly very practical, this bridge is a great example of designing for the environment that it sits within. The tapering approaches to the centre section on either side really give the structure a welcoming feel, whilst the open transparent balustrades leave clear views either way, giving the users a real sense of space and height. Very clever engineering and a great solution all round.”

Denis Harnett:

“Given I grew up close to the banks of the River Shannon, I have only good things to say about this one! An unassuming bridge, perfect for the location. The curves are not too distinct and it gives the feeling of flow or a wave. Smart and simple engineering and, I dare say, a structure type that is very achievable by our team here at Fleetwood.”

Finalist 4

Name: Footbridge over the Venoge

Location: Laussane, Switzerland

This elegant structure was designed to replace an old timber footbridge which had stood at the same site since 1865. The new bridge features a single beam with a span of 24.6m and a width of 2m and was constructed with pigmented Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) with a variable depth U-shaped cross section. Integral with the abutments, the structure was post-tensioned longitudinally with four tendons in each of the four corners of the cross section. The entire pre-cast structure was installed in a single crane lift. From a design/usability perspective, the use of a trough section made it possible to reduce the gradient for pedestrians from 28% to a far more manageable 12%.

Mark Jol:

“Very clever use of lightweight concrete engineering to get to the required crossing solution here. The use of the concrete U shape, incorporating the floor and edge beams, and post tensioning is smart, and the lightweight concrete would have been instrumental in determining whether it could be lifted in one piece or not. The balustrade design highlights the bridge structure but does leave the centre of the crossing feeling closed in, and that is where the best viewpoints are from.”

Denis Harnett:

“While it’s one of the smaller structures of the finalists, this one is my personal favourite. You can see where they have tried not to stray too far from the previous timber structure, but it’s smart in using the structure to also be the barrier – that’s tricky to get right! Great colour for the location as well.”

Finalist 5

Name: Štvanice Footbridge

Location: Prague, Czech Republic

Standing in the centre of the historic city of Prague, this project is an innovative example of how UHPFRC can be used to deliver a long footbridge. The girder is formed from 57 precast elements with joints at key points of contraflexure and is post-tensioned longitudinally. The simplicity of the constant depth H-shaped cross section and the gentle curved alignment is designed to make a bold architectural statement, finished with an elegant bronze handrail.

Mark Jol:

“There’s a very stark and practical look and feel coming from this structure. The engineering of the lightweight concrete stands out as being the key to the design and has really driven the overall aesthetic. The bridge has a strong presence in the surrounding landscape, but for me it somehow looks more practical than elegant as an access solution.”

Denis Harnett:

“While we certainly have FRC experience, the use of UHPFRC looks very interesting in this context. Visually, the colour is the standout point with what is otherwise a line in the landscape it sits within. The engineering really is to the forefront here, in that the bridge is not dressed up in any way; it’s very bold. I would also contemplate it may be quite difficult to keep clean!”

Finalist 6

Bracklinn Falls Footbridge

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, UK

The UK’s National Park Authority commissioned a new pedestrian bridge (21.7m long x 2m wide) to re-establish an old circular trail at Bracklinn Falls - a remote and mountainous area in Scotland with severely restricted access for plant, equipment and work crews. Safely delivering the structure was far from straightforward, so the design team created a lightweight solution as a flat-pack kit of parts for easy assembly. Modular 2.7m long elements were then launched across the ravine on temporary rails, with the entire bridge delivered and erected with the aid of only a small excavator.

Mark Jol:

“A wonderful bridge and an excellent example of design rising to the challenge of a complex problem. Quite often access difficulties will steer design into a clunky solution-based answer without taking aesthetic into account, but this does both in a really nice way. The result is a practical yet very aesthetically pleasing bridge that stands out from the crowd. Speaking from experience, considerable forethought and design tension would have gone into this project, way before the actual construction took place. Inspiration can be taken from this and incorporated into many designs that suit our landscape and access conditions here in Australia. Well done to all involved!”

Denis Harnett:

“Love this one. I am a fan of the use of weathered raw steel and it’s perfect for this environment. Clever use of the structure to create a beautiful barrier aesthetic. Kudos to all involved here in regards to getting this type of bridge to such a constrained location. Methodology would have been to the forefront of making this a success. Impressive!”

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