V&A Museum link bridge
Ceramics Gallery Link Bridge
Project scope : detailed design + manufacture + installation
This iconic link bridge was installed as a pedestrian fire escape foot bridge at the V&A Museum to provide a fire escape from the ceramics gallery. The concept of the bridge design was produced by Wilkinson Eyre Architects who are among the UK’s leading design practices and included a large 600mm x 400mm box section forming a rigid spine along the length of the bridge with end door portals and intermediate cascading portals welded along the length of the spine in a cantilevered detail. Folded stair treads were then set in between adjacent portals along the bottom edge of the openings to form a staircase within.
The detail design and the setting out of the manufacture of the link bridge were very challenging aspects of this project. The stair treads were detailed with a raised perforation detail, it was not immediately obvious how this could be achieved, but after much deliberation a counterboring/punch method was developed which achieved a great result.
The installation of the link bridge took place over a summer weekend and required meticulous planning and was one of the largest lifts undertaken at the V&A museum in recent years. The bridge was lifted in one piece using a 500 tonne crane lifting the link bridge 50m in the air to reach over the museum frontage. In order to clear overhanging parapets on the museum roof, the bridge needed to be lifted with a 60 degree incline from its normal position, this was achieved using two chainblocks on the short slings. After the bridge passed the parapet, with the load still suspended on the crane, it was brought back to the horizontal by extending the chainblocks, proving to be an extremely challenging lift which was successfully and safely undertaken.
Architect : Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Images courtesy of V&A Museum
Project gallery
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