Essay Part 2: The London Millennium Footbridge

Project: London Millennium Footbridge
     
Designed by: Norman Foster + Partners

     The circulation of the bridge was different than any other bridge I have encountered before. The pedestrian rose up to the level of the bridge through a middle ramp opening, much like a cargo plane bay. The bridge acted as a trajectory from The City to the Bankside, or, from the icons St. Paul's Cathedral to Tate Modern. The bridge is a steel suspension construction, supported from below, so that the views of London and the River Thames are not inhibited. 
     The scale of this pedestrian bridge is crucial to understanding the affect it has on the city of London. As the only pedestrian foot bridge crossing the Thames River, the small scale alters this area of the riverside. 
     Stan Allen's thought on form in that "form matters, but not so much the form of things, as the forms between things." I think this pedestrian bridge acts as a form between things, on the scale of two regions of London, as well as the scale between multiple paths of movement. 

     The context of the bridge plays into the importance of it's effect on the area. The bridge is an important link between the old and the new. It has a strong visual and physical connection between the Tate Modern and St. Paul's Cathedral.