Desire Lines exhibition on tour

Our Desire Lines exhibition was so popular that it went on tour, it toured to Bath (Royal Literary & Scientific Insitution), Frome (Rook Lane Arts) and the Clifton Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre where it was enjoyed by over 16,000 people (March-June 2015)! Here are some pictures of the exhibition on tour.

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

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.

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!

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.

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