Steel fingers add drama to new bridge

摘要

This 3m wide footbridge spanning just 20 m across a section of the Grand Union Canal at Paddington Basin, London, can be described as a feat of theatrical engineering. Located as it is just a short distance from the end of the canal basin, the brief for this structure was purely to provide drama to this exclusive residential and commercial development. Structurally, the crossing is a cantilever in its rest position (no drama here) but, should a barge need to pass under it, the deck splits longitudinally into five slender fingers which are raised using hydraulic jacks with an action similar to that of a traditional Japanese hand fan (lots of drama here).