“The project brief was to create a crossing of the River Lea that is also a destination in its own right. This destination is to serve as a point of interest, with a meaningful function along the Leaway. A British made sculpture is to be incorporated into the design, serving as a stop on The Line artway. An area of land on the west bank has been identified as a green space zone, for which a plan of intent is to be created. This project is conducted together with Civil Engineering students.”
There are over 10 million disabled people living in Britain today, with conditions that range from mobility to sensory and cognitive. Central to the design of Unity Bridge is disabled access, with the challenges it presents considered in almost every design decision made. These challenges were recognised early, which led to a realisation that this is a massively underserved – let alone celebrated – segment of society. Unity bridge’s theatre design enables disabled people to sit amongst the audience, instead of in a segregated periphery, whilst the 1:20 ramps provide a gentle gradient to improve wheelchair comfort. Tiling over the concrete deck provides an audible impact surface which can be used by the partially sighted as a form of echolocation to aid in navigating the bridge. In addition, contrasts in textures – such as the tiled floor to concrete handrails – provide a haptic environment that can be engaged with physically. To increase awareness of disability, the twelve openings in the amphitheatre roof will act as date dependant solar trackers. These large openings which will each in turn focus sunlight on the center of the stage once a month, at a date that is relevant to the disability cause that they represent.
Project site
Poplar’s close proximity to many of London’s far reaching docks – including the East and West Indian docks – led to it becoming one of the first multicultural communities in the UK. This model of diversity has served as a precedent for the nation. The term “Poplarism” was coined after the Poplar rates rebellion of 1921, led by George Lansbury, a former mayor of Poplar. The rebellion protested against unfair taxation on the poorer areas of London and pushed for economic equality. Poplar was successful in its drive for equality, catalysing a change for the nation. After a democratic merger of council estates in 1998, the HARCA housing association has regenerated Poplar and injected a sense of community through multiple housing, entrepreneurship and youth projects.
Through several major design iterations, the form of the bridge was experimented with to reach a solution that fulfilled the desired requirements. A geometric form, with the stage at the centre of the bridge, was unsuccessful in conveying a sense of movement. It also did not encourage users to slow down in their journey across the bridge and was not absolutely clear with regard to direction and flow. However the disabled access throughout the design was a key feature that was taken forward. A composite steel and concrete design felt cluttered and structurally inefficient, although it did have merit in its sense of movement and incorporation of the roof into the structure below. A stage off kilter with the rest of the bridge functioned in utilising the backdrop of the sensory garden in the view from the amphitheatre, however it imbued a sense of imbalanced, with the stage appearing as an obstruction to the bridge’s sense of movement.
Sense of Movement
There is something of a dichotomy between the objective of a bridge, which encourages movement from one place to another, and an amphitheatre, which is a static hub; a destination in itself. The bridge must therefore feel unified in all aspects of its design, and convey a sense of movement throughout. A purity of structural form and material choice is essential to this.
Journey
The design encourages users to slow down as they journey over the bridge and is absolutely clear with regard to direction and flow. It has elements which engage and help sensorily impaired members of the community to enjoy the journey over the bridge. The structure should be optimised in a way to best utilise the available support locations. Creating a 1 in 20 gradient on both sides of the bridge is a challenge, and so the single pier location is exploited to support the bridge deck at multiple points.
Purity
The intention throughout the design process has been to ensure that the form of the bridge follows the function, without superfluous additions. This determination for a structure that feels pure in its construction has led to the selection of one key material from which everything is created, without confusion and distraction by elements that do not follow this aesthetic.
Structural System
The bridge behaves structurally as a system of beams and cantilevers, relying entirely on the bending properties of reinforced concrete for its structural integrity. In terms of material use it is not an efficient layout, which is evidenced in the relatively deep sections, but this is valued as necessary in order to keep bridge true to the pure architectural vision.
Unifying
The experience of crossing the bridge will be a unifying experience for all members of the community, without segregation of any kind. To achieve this, stairs and lifts and been omitted, with disabled friendly 1 in 20 gradients with landings provided. Cyclists are purposefully encouraged to dismount and enjoy the journey over the bridge, as this is to be a community space space for Poplar, not an arterial cycle route.
In-situ Concrete
With these desires in mind, the free flowing and organic shape of our bridge lent itself to an in-situ concrete construction. In-situ concrete construction is more labour intensive and time consuming than precast construction, but it allows for freedom over the bridge’s shape.
Sensory garden
Area for Socialising
Whist the amphitheatre is intended to draw in members of the local disabled community, it is our intention that the Green Space will act as a further area for socialisation before and after performances.
The area is to be transformed into a sensory garden containing a myriad of sights, smells, sounds and textures which engage and fill the senses.
Sight
The garden must be aesthetically pleasing, containing plants of a variety of bright and contrasting colours as well as differing heights. The use of evergreen plants is important to ensure the garden is a bright space all year round
Smell
A herb garden compliments fragrant flowers, such as lavender and honeysuckle, in tickling the olfactories, whilst also providing an opportunity for members of the community to work together. This could even be turned into an educational project for the neighbouring primary school to sustain.
Sound
Water features are not only visually stimulating, but can also produce interesting and calming sounds. Long stemmed plants, including long grass, create noise when the wind passes through them, and gravelled paths provide a depth of sound that the user cannot help but interact with.
Touch
Trees and sculptures with differing bark patterns and textures give a new sensory depth which engages users with visual impairments. Gravelled pathways not only produce interesting sound but also a curious underfoot texture.
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