THE FOOTBRIDGE

Due to the limited space of the plot in the southwest side of the road, a scale and an elevator are proposed for the vertical circulation. Considering the cyclist circulation a 40cm gap by the stairs is used for cyclist dismount. In the bridge’s north edge, a ramp leads directly to the school’s courtyard and a second ramp leads to the adjacent road. In the middle of the footbridge two stairwells lead to the level of the road’s northeast sidewalk. The circulation determines the landscape design with sitting areas and the proposed vegetation. The stairwells and the ramps become an integral part of the footbridge support system. Thus, the footbridge’s circulation and support system sculpt in the same manner the form of the columns towards the ground.In the middle of the bridge near the north vertical circulation, the corridor becomes wider while the lighting system is densified. This gradient of the lighting is a result of an attractor system which aims to highlight in a macro-scale the circulation intersection in the middle of the bridge and in a micro-scale the position of the holes on the metallic panels which decrease the panel’s heat capacity and weight. The unique characteristic of this proposal is that the construction method aims to integrate the surface with the support system of the footbridge. Therefore the corridor and the stairwells lead to the ground as support systems. The rest of the footbridge surfaces behave as cantilever. The model was modeled in Grasshopper with a direct information flow to Robot for structural optimization. Any change on the system in the design or the structural program can inform the other. A further information flow for Computer Aided Manufacturing system will be needed for the cutting of the outline of the metallic curved panels and the lighting holes.