Winner announced in footbridge design competition

The design competition, launched in May, was for multidisciplined teams to design the footbridge located on the central pedestrian concourse in the Olympic Park. The footbridge spans 26m over the River Lea at a focal point between the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Basketball Arena.

The planning and design of the bridge will integrate both Games and legacy use. During the Games the bridge will have a total width of 55 metres to accommodate increased spectator numbers. After the Games temporary sections of bridge will be removed leaving two narrower bridges that span either side of Carpenters Lock, a unique 1930’s historic structure on the River Lea Waterway.

In June a six-strong shortlist of established designers, engineers and emerging young practices were asked to develop concept design proposals for the bridge and the immediate surrounding landscape in Games time and legacy mode. Their designs were assessed by a specialist design jury which selected the Irish based firm Heneghan Peng Architects as the design competition winners.

Heneghan Peng’s concept designs were praised by the design jury for making the bridge a spectacle in Games mode by using the landscape for colour and activity followed by the transformation of the structure in legacy to leave two footbridges linked by a central blade-like walkway offering views over the river and Carpenters Lock.

ODA Director of Infrastructure and Utilities Simon Wright said:

‘The winning team impressed the design jury with their understanding of the need to plan Games and legacy together. Their designs will help us lock-in legacy now by designing a bridge that meets Games-time needs but which also leaves behind a striking structure in the heart of the Olympic Park for future generations to enjoy.

‘The jury were impressed with all of the shortlisted teams but Heneghan Peng’s designs emerged as a clear favourite and will help us ensure we continue to aim for the highest standards of design excellence across the project.’

Directors of Heneghan Peng Architects, Roisin Heneghan and Shih-Fu Peng, said:

‘We are thrilled to have won this competition particularly after being faced by such incredible opposition. We hope that our design will form an important element within the spectacle of the London 2012 Games and as a striking element of the enhanced connections the Olympic Park will create in legacy.’

The design competition jury included Sarah Buck, who recently took post as the first female President of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). Sarah Buck said:

‘The same difficult challenge of designing a bridge with a width greater than the span was tackled imaginatively and creatively by the six short listed teams. Heneghan Peng and Adams Kara Taylor have produced an inspired design using modern materials in a particularly innovative way, especially for the legacy mode.’

The design jury was particularly impressed with the way Heneghan Peng’s concept designs brought together a design solution that worked for both Games and legacy. The short span of the footbridge gave Heneghan Peng scope to develop a more creative design than a usual bridge structure by using the surrounding landscape as a way of shaping the bridge structure itself.

The jury also praised the proposals to open up the Carpenters Lock area, creating new meeting spaces, views and links above and below the bridge between the river tow paths, Carpenters Lock and the upper concourse in the Olympic Park.

- Ends –

Notes to Editors:

1. The images attached show Heneghan Peng’s winning footbridge designs in Games and legacy modes. (Please credit ‘heneghan.peng.architects/©Archimation’ when using images)

2. Following a strong response by more than 46 teams, the ODA shortlisted six teams for the design competition in June:

• McDowell+Benedetti, Jane Wernick Associates, Craft Pegg and Sutton Vane Associates, Richard Wentworth Artist;
• Heneghan Peng Architects and Adams Kara Taylor Engineers;
• Ron Arad Associates, Buro Happold and Landscape Architects - BBUK Studio;
• Softroom, Eckersley O'Callaghan, Landuse, Atelier Ten and James Bruges Studio;
• Future Systems, Adams Kara Taylor, Rendel Palmer Tritton and Lighting Design Partnership; and
• Tonkin Liu, Atelier One, Grant Associates and BDP Sustainability.

3. The shortlisted teams were assessed by a Design Jury comprising:

• Carl Ainley – British Waterways;
• Bob Allies – Allies and Morrison;
• Peter Bishop – Design for London; Sarah Buck – BSW Consulting, President IStructE;
• Ricky Burdett – ODA Principal Design Advisor; Jorgen Nissen – Bridge Consultant;
• Kevin Owen – LOCOG; and
• Simon Wright - ODA Director of Infrastructure and Utilities.
  

4. More than 30 bridges, temporary and permanent, will be built in and around the Olympic Park in total

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700. Find out the latest from the London 2012 HQ at the Work in Progress blog.