Copr Bay Bridge

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.