Civil Engineers: Gabriella Nigrelli, Yousuf Rahman

The concept behind the bridge design in Swindon revolved around creating a fluid and immersive experience, where the transition between the botanical garden and the bridge was seamlessly integrated. Transforming the adjoining car park into a picturesque garden landscape, the entire space was envisioned as a holistic journey. The bridge, rather than solely serving as a means of transit from one point to another, was conceptualized as an integral part of the overall experience, enhancing the visit to the botanical gardens. Employing recyclable materials such as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) and stainless steel, the design emphasized sustainability and environmental consciousness. Incorporating a splash of colour, the bridge was envisioned not just as a functional structure but also as an aesthetic attraction in its own right, complementing the natural beauty of the botanical garden and adding a touch of contemporary artistry to the landscape. This holistic approach aimed to offer visitors a captivating and immersive journey, ensuring that their experience from the moment they entered the car park to the time they left the botanical garden was characterized by a seamless blend of nature, art, and sustainable design.

Civil Engineers: Charlie Dane, Augustin Quarez, Georgia Coombes

As a group we saw the site as an opportunity to look further than just creating a means to cross the railway. With the outlet store seeing 60,000 visitors per week and only being serviced by 4 food chains, we needed to divert people out of the closed retail loop and redirect them into Swindon’s HAZ. To do this we wanted to create a sustainable, vibrant and environmentally concious area where locals can open small businesses, food stalls and markets. Alongside this we wanted to rejuvinate the existing farmers markets that set up in that area each weekend. Creating 2 anchors connected via a bridge using disused shipping containters and concious planting.

Civil Engineers: Raine Estales, Alex McJannet and Tom Shineborne

We had three primary takeaways from the project brief: Accessibility, Community and Sustainability. Our design intent was to create a sculptural piece that would draw the community together and be a space for all ages – resulting in the centerpiece of the long ramp. To further this community-centric design we introduced an outdoor market, community garden and an Amphitheatre – the locations of these were determined by the shape of the ramp and subsequent bridge. We wanted to provide users with multiple routes to cross the bridge which included stairs, a lift and a ramp. This resulted in a design that felt organic and ‘flowed’ through the site. Finally, we were keen to explore vegetation and landscaping in our design as there is a need for more green spaces in Swindon – this led to the development of a community garden and a more landscaped approach on the residential side of the tracks.

Civil Engineers: Joshua Saunders, Max Crust

In this project, we designed a landmark bridge in Swindon that encourages people to use low-carbon transportation methods and enhances the local environment while achieving sustainability. During the design process, we overcame many challenges. The project aimed to cover every single aspect of the brief, striving for a well-balanced design. The characteristic feature of the bridge is the 20-metre high arch, which also serves as the main structural support. We realized that constructing a bridge like this would require a significant amount of materials, so the primary materials were sourced from recycled metal. The goal was to make the bridge capable of withstanding the test of time, ensuring a longer period of use and reducing the need for later maintenance. We also decided to transform the original car park into a public park, where we plan to a small urban farm in collaboration with the nearby schools to grow vegetables and plants, on the museum side at the other end of the bridge, a small market will be set up to sell the products grown on the farm.

Civil Engineers: Rory Nash, Ben Millett, Jacob Hardy

Our project aims to assist the council in reaching the intent of their regeneration scheme:

- Safety
- Flow
- Unity
- Stronger Economy

However, the main objective of our design is to create a landmark for Swindon that will not only capitalize on the town’s proud railway heritage but also unify the society, bridging a gap between the residential and commercial parts of Swindon. We are introducing green public realms and assisting the council in making economical improvements by providing spaces to promote small local businesses on the south side of the site. 

Civil Engineers: Charlie Haselden, Beyza Cinar, Shreya Shivaramakrishnan

Our approach to this brief was to focus on how the car park could be best repurposed to serve the local community. To create an inviting space for the adjacent railway village, the wall to the former carriage works is to be opened up, with the stone repurposed to build a community cafe. A large area of the garden is dedicated to communal allotments, providing extra food security to the local community in the current cost of living crisis.

Our garden is based on the principles outlined by the RHS for gardening in a changing climate. Rain gardens collect water during heavy rain events, a green roof minimises run-off from the cafe, and shrub borders between areas reduce the need for mowing and maintenance.

The site adjoins the UTC Swindon and a proposed higher education institute. The garden and cafe provide a recreational space for these students to gather and have lunch during the day. It also provides safer access to the STEAM museum, and the bridge creates a new viewpoint for trainspotters in the historic railway area, boosting visitor numbers.

Civil Engineers: Jacob Youles, Cameron Harris, Matt Watts 

Civil Engineers: Isaac Andal, Luke Batty

The purpose of our bridge was to create a simple, light and fluid structure that could connect and activate two currently underused and unpleasant spaces within the Swindon heritage action zone (HAZ). We wanted our design to offer a pleasant experience for residents and visitors travelling between the residential, cultural and commercial districts in the area.

The relative positions of the car parks on each side of the site naturally lend themselves to the design of a bridge which addresses its relation to the northern hemisphere sun and thus in trying to ,maintain a sustainable approach, we designed the bridge to be composed of two quarter circular paths with undulating canopies optimised for the installation of solar PV’s at Swindon’s latitude.

The motif of the quarter circle also informed the design of the access points on both ends. To the north, the curved steps make descending onto the outlet-museum in-between natural and elevate this space from an unfrequented cul-de-sac to an elegant corridor leading north of the tracks. To the south, giant steps radiating outwards and down from the bridge end make for a welcoming space and complete the street-scape when considering the anticipated university development to the east of the car park.

Civil Engineers: Vlad Bragoi, Alexander Engh, Yousuf Shahzad

Our sustainability-focused project aims to create a green oasis in Swindon's urban landscape, expanding and connecting the green space around the Heelis National Trust Headquarters. With a strong emphasis on inclusivity, our bridge design caters to pedestrians, wheelchair users, and cyclists, promoting accessibility for all. 

Cultivated vegetation sourced from nearby National Trust properties not only enhances the surrounding environment but also educates visitors about local wildlife and attractions. Encouraging community involvement, the bridge's greenery maintenance is overseen by National Trust staff, fostering a sense of responsibility and volunteerism. 

The bridge's robust design ensures structural stability and durability, with additional reinforcement provided by horizontal cable bracing and diagonal square hollow section members to withstand dynamic forces. Integrating planters along the walkway and utilizing steel and concrete, materials synonymous with the city's industrial legacy, our design reflects Swindon's enduring resilience and long-term ambitions. By incorporating sustainable materials and emphasizing community engagement, our project contributes to the city's eco-conscious and heritage-focused development.

Civil Engineers: Harrison Jenkins, Joshua Hollis

‘The Swindon Outlook’ focuses on the heritage of Swindon as a railway town, with its new link over the railway both enhancing the site’s existing facilities and connecting back to the sense of community that is integral to Swindon as a town. While the north landing site provides the existing STEAM Museum with a new amphitheatre, encouraging more engagement with the arts within the local community, the south landing site’s community gardens and cycle pit stop – along with the new cycle routes planned around the site - promote more sustainable methods of transport and transform the small community garden plots dotted around Swindon into a central hub for social gatherings. By focusing above all on the key needs of Swindon residents, and providing a new, open and dedicated connection over the railway that is accessible by foot, bike and wheelchair, the ‘Swindon Outlook’ will turn underused plots of land into a new ‘heart’ for the town.

Civil Engineers: Chelsea Baladad, Yasamin Nezhad Qanbar

In response to the climate crisis and crucial departure from fossil fuels as sources of energy, our proposal adapts existing oil infrastructure to benefit the local community and demonstrate climate resilient strategies. Steel, disassembled at Fawley Oil Terminus, is transported by rail, assembled as modular cubes, and placed on the site on an orthographic grid. The modules house vertical gardens, markets trading produce from the gardens; a multifunctional theatre space; and a playground. A truss bridge connects the two spaces, which foster interaction, education, and play. 

Civil Engineers: Luke Dourado, Yusuf Bello

Group 9 approached the project by striving to increase the bio-diversity of Swindon by creating a unique inner-city wetlands. Modular pavilions create flexible public spaces that encourage users to explore the space as well as linking both sides of the railway. 

Civil Engineer: Jasmine Long, Josh Byford.

Civil Engineers: Seren Jones, Jodi Mak

The project ‘Swindon bridge overpass’ aims to heal the historic retail to residential urban divide, created by the GWR railway line that runs through Swindon. Through this proposal, both public and private spaces are curated at both sites, either side of the line. These are connected by a contextually sensitive foot bridge. The two towers at both ends of the bridge act as the key infrastructural elements, whilst providing a sentimental homage to the past through the use of materials already present within the surrounding urban fabric. Playing on this motif, the larger central water tower serves as the utilitarian mechanism, which in turn powers the reclaimed masonry lift shaft opposite. This is achieved through the use of a counterbalance system, with rainwater runoff collected from roofscapes feeding the counterbalance with water, which then acts as a driving force for the lift.

Civil Engineers: Madeleine Engel, Bahat Bagli

Our project aims to bridge the gap, socially and physically, between the north and south sides of the site. Our initial analysis of the site revealed the south side to have a much larger elderly population than the north. The average south side resident also had fewer qualifications, tended to be carless and had their activity levels affected by health much more than the north side. 

The bridge we designed therefore aimed to provide a gentle rise over the bridge for its elderly users, as well as lifts for those unable to use the ramp. We brought commerce and social spaces to the southside to encourage the younger, more car dependent northside residents to explore the southside of the site. 

Our material palette is timber, with stone in areas, to recreate the patchwork effect of materials seen around the Swindon site. These local materials helped to keep the embodied carbon of the project low and the local essence high. 

Civil Engineers: Honor Ash-Dixon, Samrat Koirala

As a group we honed in on rejuvenating the sites: providing a pragmatic solution across the railway with an enhanced socio-environmental character at both landing sites. Biophilic design and minimal carbon impact drove our approach to the overall proposal. It was important that we selected low-carbon materials that delivered structurally whilst complementing and enhancing the green spaces and HAZ, delivering a purposeful solution rooted in sustainability. By including generous green spaces and forests populated with native plants, offering a variety of seating and walking areas amongst them, we create a nature-filled space for moments of respite, reflection and community alongside thriving biodiversity. Our circulation approach was to provide both a ‘fast’ route - A to B - and a leisurely route - slow and paced. We paid particular attention to the leisure path, being the accessible route, providing a pleasant journey amongst the vast greenery framing the heritage beauty of the HAZ.  

Civil Engineers: Evan Smith, Dylan Steenkamp

Our aim is to design a structure that creates an experience as you move between Old Swindon and New Swindon. We have chosen to incorporate new sustainable principles in our design and have created a sustainable recycling centre as part of our bridge on the New Swindon side. This centre has an open structure and aspires to host events including the resale of goods and workshops for fixing as well as being

used as a recycling centre as opposed to the retail park on the Old Swindon side.

Civil Engineers: Sami Mustafa, Jacob Brotherton

Our focus was on delivering the lowest embodied carbon bridge, while being in keeping with the urban landscape of Swindon and the railway

Civil Engineers: Michael Elsom, Tomas Rafferty

Civil Engineers: Louise Parker, Daria Bindoiu, Doriane Masabo Mbaguta

Civil Engineers: Sam Tassell, Finnley Newcombe-Rout

Our site analysis revealed a strong sense of history in the area due to the heritage action zone and steam museum. We also noticed a lack of green space on the north side of the bridge and decided to enhance that area of the side with landscaping. Thinking about the bridge as a journey, we proposed to design a scheme which took the user on an experience through time, looking at the history of the railways specifically. We start at the steam museum, which shows the industrial past of Swindon. Views from on top of the bridge help the user understand the modern day rail industry and crossing over, the user experiences the potential future of trains, with exhibits and information on how this industry could be made more sustainable.

Civil Engineers: Ana Batisa Monteiro, John Taylor

Civil Engineers: Annie Hayton, Macey-Jo Rajkovic, Laurie Evans

The lightweight truss form of our bridge drew on the industrial history of the site and specifically the Listed water tower neighbouring the redevelopment zone. A timber clad walkway snakes up to and threads through the lift shaft towers, providing an organic contrast to the truss structure it is suspended within. Connection was a key aspect of our design response – exhibited not only through the bridge itself, but through landscaping on both landing sites that created purposeful links between southern side educational institutes and northern retail and cultural facilities. We also took inspiration from the historical railway tracks that passed through the site and have proposed linear water features along these original lines.

Civil Engineers: Rudi Regan, Tamila Kuralbayeva

Civil Engineers: Amelia Jones, Anna Wade, Jack Moore

To address the climate emergency and the theme of regeneration, our bridge design aims to create an organic and natural form that emphasises environmental regener­ation. Moreover, we aim to enhance the local retailing industry through increased circulation between the two sides of the railway; to create an inclusive environ­ment for the public and the youth, espe­cially when the neighbouring area will introduce a new university building; and to give the public a sense of security in the area. As a result, there are additions of greenery and seating areas. Also, there are multiple plat­forms that serve as viewpoints for the surrounding environment. Each platform has an individual “micro-biome” to enhance biodiversity. In our scheme, we are also proposing to plant under 4000 trees throughout Swindon to soften the landscape, demonstrating our ambitious approach towards regenerative design. Furthermore, adequate security by improved lighting a visibili­ty will be introduced.

Civil Engineers: David Coyne, Molly Van Poortvliet

Our group aimed to connect Swindon and allow for the bridge to serve as a catalyst for the rejuvenation of the area, all while safeguarding its distinctive heritage and celebrating the rich industrial legacy of the region. The scheme links the “old” Swindon with the modern, creating an environment where local businesses and the community flourish together. Beyond being a functional bridge we wanted the bridge to, act as an attraction itself. We achieved this in the form of a vibrant community amphitheatre with surrounding green areas on the south side and a cafe and development of existing links to key attractions on the North side. Due to the geometric forms and industrial surroundings we decided to use organic forms and fluid shapes to blend the two landscapes on either side of the railway track. To achieve our curved bridge and minimise material usage we opted for a cable-stayed bridge design.

Civil Engineers: LUCY ALEXANDER, AMY THOMAS, TOM STANBURY

WE APPROACHED THIS PROJECT WITH THE AIM TO ‘PUT BACK WHATEVER WE DISPLACE,’ NOT ONLY ALLUDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES BUT ALSO WHEN CONSIDERING THE WALL WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH. FOLLOWING THIS, OUR CONCEPT WAS TO SLOT INTO THE LISTED MULTI-GABLE FACADE WHILST MATCHING THE PITCH OF THE PIECE WE WOULD BE TAKING OUT. DUE TO THE OPTIMAL GRADIENT AND ORIENTATION OF THE PITCH, WE WERE ABLE TO FORM A SHELTERING CANOPY OUT OF PHOTOVOLTAICS, WHICH WOULD OFFSET OPERATIONAL ENERGY OF THE LIFTS AND LIGHTING.

OUR LANDSCAPING STRATEGY WAS TO INCREASE BIODIVERSITY WHILST FORMING A DESIRABLE PLACE TO REST, EAT, AND SOCIALISE IN WHAT WAS ONCE AN UNPLEASANT SPACE. ALTERNATIVELY, OUR TREATMENT OF THE ALLEYWAY LANDING ZONE CREATED A SAFE SPACE, CONTRASTING TO THE DANGEROUS UNDERPASS, BY USING LIGHTING AND A STAGGERED DECENT. 

WE REUSED DISPLACED MATERIAL, FOCUSED ON STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY AND MAXIMISED THE LIFE SPAN, IN ORDER TO MINIMISE EMBODIED CARBON. THE MINIMAL STEEL USED WAS TO BE EXPOSED AND PAINTED GREEN, TO CELEBRATE THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF SWINDON AND THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. 

Civil Engineers: Renna Vogelzang, Natalie Yeo

The Green Connection represents a new green and social connection. The bridge and its surroundings house multiple social facilities in a green environment, such as resting areas, a water square, event space, roofed in bicycle parking and a café. Green connection creates a healthier, safer, and more accessible route for crossing the railway. The greenery around and on the bridge create a healthier and more pleasant area for visitors. The presence of the café results in more visitors and creates an extra use of the space, which keeps it safer. By using gutters and lifts, the bridge is accessible for everyone. Overall, the bridge is made of durable and sustainable materials and technologies.

Civil Engineers: Karen Stokes, Emmanuella Musa

Our bridge design proposal ‘Canopy Connection’ is a sustainable oasis in the heart of the city. The organic form weaves nature into urban infrastructure and connects a network of spaces. Within the landscaping on either side of the bridge, we aimed to create places where citizens of Swindon can engage with each other and feel a sense of community. The restaurant building is a space where local food merchants can thrive, and passersby can sit or takeaway food to eat up on the bridge with a view. The park on the other side hosts a tactile and interactive play area and encourages footfall around the museum entrance. Materials used in the scheme are sustainable and reflect the earthy colours of the landscape. By incorporating artificial animal habitats in low parts of the ramp, growing vines up columns and planting trees and flowerbeds, it is a haven for local wildlife and biodiversity.

Engineers: Lamme Leung, Thenuki Kankanamge

Description: Our group wanted to use the bridge as an orientation device for the Swindon Heritage Action Zone, pulling the people in the area coming only for the Swindon Outlet Mall outwards and into the rich, historical surroundings of Swindon. We felt a lack of food options so we decided on a set of market and food stalls that would service the area and help draw people outside of the outlet on the north side of the bridge. With the existing school and 4th year university project flanking either side of our site on the south side of the bridge, we felt that a community hub and garden space would be the best use of the site, giving students and citizens of Swindon a semi-enclosed green space in the heart of the heritage zone. On the bridge itself, we extended a balcony out from the existing steam museum, helping users locate various historical landmarks in the area through signage along the walkways.

Civil Engineers: Ned Cousins, Dan Martin, Georgina Tranter-Edwards

Our group interpreted the brief as a social opportunity for Swindon’s near communities. We tackled the sustainability detail by carefully selecting materials such as timber for our cladding which can easily be replaced and repaired, concrete for our decking for durability and sleekness as well as Corten steel for our structural components so have a weather resilient form.

Our concept was focused on integrating green spaces and activity areas around the bridge to make the area a popular attraction for Swindon. We designed it as such for it to stand out and create a modern and lively atmosphere in a quiet industrial zone.

We created a flowing circulation with organic shapes from the garden space below the bridge as well as the bridge itself with its covered seating areas to enjoy a book or a coffee whilst on your morning or evening commute.

Civil Engineers: George Maltby