Thursday 18 December 2014

Bridge Design Competition winners!

With over 200 entrants to our design-a-bridge competition, the judges were spoilt for choice. Here's the winning designs:

Under 8 Category: Moonlight Bridge

























Over 8 Category: The Bridge of Time


Friday 28 November 2014

Bridge Design Challenge for Girls

Bridges was the theme for the Architecture Centre's participation workshop, as part of the Centre's bridge150 season, marking Bristol Suspension Bridge's 150th anniversary.

The day aimed to give girls an insight into the engineering professional and used bridges as a spring-board for this discovery. Year 8 girls from Sir Bernard Lovell School and ten female engineer university students were brought together for a design challenge.

The students took part in a series of exercises, getting to know their mentors and finding out their motivation for becoming engineers, their favourite part of their job or course. The warm up exercise consisted of the teams constructing a bridge structure using only dried spaghetti and marshmallows, working in teams, prizes were given for the bridges that spanned at-least 10cm and were structurally sound enough to withstand the weight of a glue stick.

After taking inspiration from the Architecture's bridge150 playing cards and a short presentation on bridge design the students had a new understanding of bridge engineering and were set their main task for the day: to design and build a small model of a bridge that could span the River Avon and connect the city to the soon to be built 12,000 capacity performance venue.

The students and mentors collaborate to produce 2D designs, deliberating over the bridges' materials and functionality and planning the unique features. The teams then began to transform the design into 3D models. The design teams worked hard alongside their mentors, on completion of the designs, the students presented their models to the other teams and tutors for feedback. Each design was completely different but equally as creative and well though out.

The day was an opportunity for the girls to be inspired by female professionals and gain and insight int to the career of engineering. The Architecture Centre would like to thank the following female professionals and university students for their valuable role of mentors:

Pippa Goldfinger, Maria Pepper, Mariapia Angelino, Suzanne Evans, Felicia Baily, Emily Seabrook and Katie Troughton.





















Saturday 1 November 2014

The Big Family Arts Picnic

The finale of this year's Family Arts Festival had a bridges theme this year. Hundreds of people enjoyed hands-on activities at the Family workshop in Arnolfini auditorium, with the Architecture Centre, Arnolfini and Bristol Children's Scrapstore, including futuristic bridge construction.






Family storytelling and creative bridge building activities

In October half term budding Brunels gathered in the Architecture Centre's gallery to listen to the adventures of Iggy Peck, architect (aged 6) and make their own bridge constructions, much bridge-building fun was had by all!





Friday 24 October 2014

Bridging Disciplines Talk













Bridging Disciplines
Talk: Thursday 23 October 2014

The Architecture Centre was pleased to welcome renowned engineer Alan Baxter to speak about bridge engineering. He was joined by architects Martin Knight (Knight Architects) and Renato Benedetti (McDowell + Benedetti) to discuss the collaborative approach to bridge design. 

Alan Baxter Associates has worked with both architects on a number of projects including Scale Lane Bridge in Hull which is featured as one of the case studies in the Desire Lines exhibition.

Martin Knight talks about projects by his bridge-specific practice.

Renato Benedetti designs bridges as destinations.
























A video of Alan Baxter and McDowell + Benedetti's Scale Lane bridge in action is available to watch here.

A video of Knight Architect and AKTII's Merchant Square footbridge in action is available to watch here.


Saturday 18 October 2014

Desire Lines: Romance and Rationalism in Bridge Design

Desire Lines: Romance and Rationalism in Bridge Design
Exhibition: 1 October to 16 November 2014













As Bristol celebrates the 150th anniversary of the world-famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, this exhibition looks at the stories behind the creation of some of today’s most innovative structures. The exhibition will include audio-visual interviews with engineers (watch the video here); models, photographs and drawings; interactive family activities; and information resources. - See more at: http://architecturecentre.co.uk/exhibitions-bridge150#sthash.F6ZFy6h
As Bristol celebrates the 150th anniversary of the world-famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, this exhibition looks at the stories behind the creation of some of today’s most innovative structures. The exhibition will include audio-visual interviews with engineers (watch the video here); models, photographs and drawings; interactive family activities; and information resources. - See more at: http://architecturecentre.co.uk/exhibitions-bridge150#sthash.F6ZFy6h5.dpuf


As Bristol celebrates the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Architecture Centre's exhibition looks at the stories behind the creations of some of today's most innovative structures. The exhibition includes: interviews with engineers working today; models; photographs and drawing; over 80 factfiles; and interactive family activities.

Visitors explore one of 6 six bridge building kits.
at the stories behind the creation of some of today’s most innovative structures. - See more at: http://architecturecentre.co.uk/exhibitions-bridge150#sthash.F6ZFy6h5.dpuf


Design your own bridge activity for children.




















Video interviews & a timeline of Clifton Suspension bridge




















Produced in collaboration with the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust and supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering's Ingenious Fund, the IStructE Education Trust and ICE.

Further information about the exhibition can be found here.
Produced in collaboration with the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust and supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious Fund, ICE and IStructE Education Trust. - See more at: http://architecturecentre.co.uk/exhibitions-bridge150#sthash.F6ZFy6h5.dpuf

Wednesday 8 October 2014

The Great Debate: Who Owns Bridge Design? Engineers vs Architects

A lively debate took place at Arnolfini, with over 180 people taking part.

Since the 1990s architects have been increasingly involved in bridge design, but where has this left the engineer, and does it matter? This event, which took place at Arnolfini discussed how engineers and architects feel about their changing roles and the effect it has on bridge design.

Chaired by Tanya Ross (BuroHappold Engineering) and featuring Jim Eyre, Julian Elton, Hugh Pearman and Ian Firth.

Listen to the podcast of this talk here



Monday 22 September 2014

Getting up close to bridges - on foot and on the water!

Guided walks and even a boat tour were a popular part of the Bridge150 Festival, celebrating engineering creativity and ingenuity

Urban Wanderings: The Floating Harbour - Wednesday 27 August

This guided walk took a route along the Floating Harbour to find out about old and new bridges that connect the city.




















Urban Wanderings: Brunel's Bristol - Thursday 2 October

On this guided walk pop-up speakers shared insights into Isambard Kingdom Brunel's influence on Bristol's built environment



















Urban Wanderings: The Avon New Cut - Saturday 20 September

A special boat tour took place for September's Urban Wanderings, the tour took in the Clifton Suspension Bridge before sailing a route down the Avon New Cut to hear stories behind some of the bridges that cross it, as well as the history and development in the surrounding area.

With over twenty bridges en route through the Floating Harbour all the way out to Netham (and back again), this bout tour offered a chance to view Bristol from a rare and fascinating angle.









Wednesday 30 July 2014

Bridge building fun at the Bristol Harbour Festival





The sun finally came out at the 2014 Bristol Harbour Festival, where Architecture Centre and Clifton Suspension Bridge staff and a team of enthusiastic volunteer engineers gathered to inspire the public to create and construct their own futuristic bridge structures, celebrating the start of the #bridge150 festival.




















Our #bridge150 marquee was bursting at the seams with marshmallow, spaghetti and a varity of colourful construction materials from the Children's Scrapstore. Over two fun filled days, hundreds of visitors of all ages, designed and built their own model bridges to span our very own Bristol river, meandering its way across College Green in the Cirque Bijou family zone of the festival.

 


















From intergalactic suspension bridges, to neon arch bridges made of pipe cleaners, everyone got a chance to get 'hands-on' and become enthused by the wonder of bridge engineering.

 


















The Architecture Centre would like to thank our wonderful volunteer team: 
Engineers: Kunal, Kaloyana, Pete and Jamie
Volunteers: Sabrina, Ian, Randi, Sophie and Emily.

Friday 18 July 2014

Bridge150 festival launches at Bristol Harbour Festival 2014














The Architecture Centre is delighted to be launching the Bridge150 festival with the Clifton Suspension Bridge team at Bristol's popular Harbour Festival on 19/20 July 2014.

We will be located in the family & circus area on College Green from 12 noon to 6pm on both days of the festival.

Come and join us to create your own futuristic bridge, make a bridge badge or construct a model bridge out of pasta and marshmallows! Our volunteer engineers will be on hand to provide some inspiration.

#bridge150