The Rolling Bridge
The Rolling Bridge is a kinetic sculpture,[2][3] and a unique type of curling moveable bridge, completed in 2004 as part of the Grand Union Canal office and retail development project at Paddington Basin, London.
For the Victorian-era retractable bridge, see Guthrie rolling bridge. For an example of the rolling bascule bridge, see Pegasus Bridge.
The Rolling Bridge
Triangular steel segments, hydraulic actuators, lightweight deck
12 metres (39 ft)
Thomas Heatherwick Studio
SKM Anthony Hunts and Packman Lucas
Littlehampton Welding Ltd
2005
£500,000
Disadvantages[edit]
The Rolling Bridge could theoretically allow the passage of boats, but the small basin behind the bridge is not open to canal traffic – it is currently occupied by a fountain, and blocked by a steel barrier at surface level to prevent boats entering.[4][5][6] It also has a very long cycle time, taking 2–3 minutes to finish moving in either direction,[3][5][7] which compares unfavourably with traditional hand-operated canal footbridges and would cause delays on a waterway with frequent boat traffic. Finally, the detour around the open bridge is very short,[3][5][4] so the crossing is arguably not required at all.
Thus, the project is primarily public art rather than a practical structure for navigation.[3]
The high number of complex moving parts – fourteen hydraulic rams, numerous precision bearings, and an underground machinery chamber to provide the required oil pressure – can be seen as an example of overengineering, and has led to maintenance failures where the bridge is unable to move for significant periods of time.[3][8]
For these reasons, the design disregards established principles of architecture and civil engineering such as form follows function.[3]
A higher-profile water crossing in London also proposed by Heatherwick – the Garden Bridge – attracted significant criticism along similar lines for mainly targeting tourists as a novelty, rather than functioning as a practical water crossing.