'The Nest' - A New Cycle and Bridleway Bridge

International Open Design Competition entry 2008

Location: Douglas Bridge, Preston
Client: Lancashire County Council & REMADE
The Northwest Development Agency
Contract Value: £3m

The brief called for a new pedestrian, cycle and bridleway bridge on the site of an old railway bridge that had since been demolished. In a sense the demolition of the bridge actually became an incredibly creative act, and we see it turning from a piece of infrastructure into a new piece of public realm

We want this bridge to be something that grows in time with both the local community but also with the landscape it sits within. We want this to be a living bridge in its most literal sense with an inbuilt adaptability allowing it to be more than just a river crossing, giving nature the chance to adapt to the bridge and accept it into the landscape and create an ecological wildlife greenway encouraging local wildlife and insects to use the bridge too. This is a bridge that is part of the new greenway link between Preston and Southport but also a bridge that is seen as a destination in its own right, taking its place within the Ribble Coast and Wetlands Regional Park.

We developed a structural solution in collaboration with Martin Stockley Associates, a series of structural ribbons that weave in and out, spiral and twist over the main bridge deck connecting with it at specific points. Every single element is required structurally all working together to create one single structural nest.