| Architect |
Gifford &
Partners with Wilkinson Eyre |
| Date
Built |
Opened 2002 |
| Location |
Crossing the
River Tyne in the proximity of the Baltic
gallery |
| Description |
|
| The design of
the Gateshead Millennium Bridge was
facilitated by the LUSAS Bridge analysis
software. LUSAS, on their website,
describe the bridge as, "the world's first and only
tilting bridge." It is this feature
of the bridge that has earned it the
nicknames of the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or
the 'Winking Eye Bridge, since it neither
swings nor lifts in the usual manner.
Instead, when opened, the whole bridge tilts
launching its pathway high into the
air. LUSAS adds that, "Whilst small river craft can
sail beneath the bridge, for larger craft
the cable-stayed double arched structure
pivots at the abutments through an angle
of 40 degrees to give the 25m navigational
clearance..." The tilting
process takes four minutes to complete
powered by eight electric motors. The fully assembled bridge was hoisted into place in November of 2002 by the Asian Hercules II, one of the largest floating cranes in the world. For the design and construction of this bridge, Wilkinson Eyre were awarded the Stirling Prize in 2002 by the Royal Institute of British Architects and Gifford was awarded the 2003 Institution of Structural Engineers Supreme Award. |
|
|
Millennium
Bridge, Gateshead
            |
