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Plashet School Footbridge
Location
London
Year
2009
Architect
Birds Portchmouth Russum
Plashet Lane Secondary School in East London is bisected by a busy main road. A 70 metre footbridge curves and rises across this barrier to link the main school buildings. The structure is simplified into a pair of deep steel parapet beams made by rolling standard sections horizontally then heat bending them vertically.
Awards:
RIBA Award 2001
Certificate of Merit, Structural Steel Design Awards 2001
Commendation, Civic Trust Awards 2002
Runner up for BCIA Small Projects Awards and The Prime Ministers Award
A cloister-like enclosure is formed by asymmetrical Teflon coated glass-fibre canopies arranged between steel arch rings.
The bridge deck has a plate steel gazebo enclosure at mid-span. Used daily by children and erected within a functioning school, the structure was closely reviewed for safety in use and the construction method planned out to avoid accident.
