Salford Bridge
RIBA Competition
Salford England
Sited in Salford, England, one of the early centers of the Industrial Revolution as a cotton town, a helix-shaped arc stands along the Irwell River as a new marker of place. The coiled arch ensembled with intertwined fabric of cables support the suspended pedestrian bridge. Its form is everchanging as it has many faces in different angles. Seen from the Chapel street, the main access to the meadow, its oval shape can be found which resonates the figure ground of its specific landscape.
The helix-shaped arch rises from concrete foundations that are imbedded in the slopes of the river embankments. The lower sections of the arch are stiff trapezoid steel tubing that rise to a height of 12 meters and gently taper to a more slender profile at the apex. The bridge is composed of 8 sections and each section consists of shop welded curved steel beams that increase in depth. The cable stay system is symmetrical and balanced.