A new pedestrian and cyclist footbridge across Oystermouth Road, Swansea. Reconnecting Swansea's city centre with Swansea Arena and the Marina - a stepping stone to the beach.

Project Details +

Project Details

LOCATION: Swansea, UK

CLIENT: City and County of Swansea

DATE: 2015-2022

STATUS: Completed

SIZE: Length 49m, Width 6.5-11.5m, Weight 150 metric tonnes

Credits +

Credits

ACME: Mark Broom, Blerta Copa, Lizy Huyghe, Friedrich Ludewig, Glenn Moorley, Ana Rodriguez, Laura Vitzthum


CONSULTANTS

Structural Bridge Engineers: Ney and Partners

Development Manager: Rivington Hark

Project Manager: Padstone

Landscape: GL Hearn

Planning Consultant: Savills

Artist: Marc Rees



CONTRACTOR

Principal: Buckingham Group

Specialist: SH Structures

Swansea is a coastal city in Wales with an illustrious coal mining past, and a century as the world capital of copper production. The historic centre is only minutes from the glorious beaches of Swansea Bay, but the construction of vast docks in Victorian times, inner city motorways, industrial sheds, supermarkets and surface car parks structures have contributed to a city centre that feels far removed from the sea. 

To connect Swansea back to the beach, a new pedestrian and cyclist footbridge spans across Oystermouth Road, seamlessly connecting the city centre with the first phase of Copr Bay, including the new Swansea Arena and the Marina.

The bridge provides a safe, continuous connection between the different parts of Copr Bay, and its structure offers a degree of protection from the elements.

In order to keep the bridge as thin as possible, the structure is designed as a stressed skin, made from a continuous 18mm thick steel plate. The steel has been rolled into a double curved surface and butt-welded into a single tube. Openings have been cut into the sides where the structural stresses were lower, to provide views out and to allow the bridge to glow at night from within.

The performations in the sides are abstracted and exploded silhouettes of swans, designed in collaboration with local artist Marc Rees, and inspired by the emblematic Swansea bird. To celebrate Copr Bay’s history as the centre of coal and copper production, the bridge has the colour of freshly smelted copper.

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