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Bridge Aesthetics
Guidelines for the New Millennium
Holger S. Svensson
The design of attractive bridges does not happen by chance, nor does it chosen few. In order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing design, one
exclusively depend on some elusive feel that is only given to a chosen must rst analyze why one bridge is considered to be beautiful and the
few. Constant conscious examination of existing bridges to nd out why other one to be ugly. If we ask this question, we nd guidelines that
they are beautiful or ugly educates aesthetic awareness. Aesthetic guide- are not only valid for bridges but also for buildings of all types, the
lines can help to nd a good shape or to check the shaping of bridges. beauty of which is generally acknowledged independently of cul-
Important aesthetic criteria are clear structural statements; good pro- tural differences. We shall try to formulate 10 guidelines for the aes-
portions; order; compatibility with the surroundings, including coloring; thetic design of bridges. The often-heard opinion that a statically
and, above all, simplicity. correct structure will simultaneously be beautiful is not valid if such
guidelines are not applied.
Attractive bridges contribute favorably to the appearance of a city
or a landscape and are admired by many people. Ugly bridges dis- Guideline 1: Clear Structural System
turb the environment and cause many people to wish that they had
never been built or could be demolished. A clear and simple structural system should be chosen like a beam,
Why is one bridge beautiful and another one ugly? Many people an arch, or a suspended structure. The bridge must look trustworthy
argue that one cannot agree about taste and that beauty is in the eye and stable.
of the beholder. That is a supercial answer. The Schierstein Bridge (Figure 1) is a continuous girder that spans
It is a fact that the majority of people will judge one particular the Rhine River on sturdy piers. Haunches accentuate the main span.
bridge in a group to be beautiful and another one to be ugly. Bridges Only two structural elements are used, the beam and the piers.
or other familiar objects have, therefore, aesthetic values that have The slender arches of the Roosevelt Lake Bridge (Figure 2) in Ari-
a common effect on people. The impact of this effect or aesthetic zona carry in compression the roadway, which is supported by hang-
value depends on the sensitivity and sensibility of the individual. ers. Three structural elements are required: arches, beam, and hangers.
A cable-stayed bridge like the Flehe Bridge (Figure 3) in Ger-
many carries the load directly in tension from the stay cables of the
PERCEIVING BEAUTY main span to the backstay cables at the end of the main bridge. Three
structural elements are used: stay cables, towers, and beam.
Aesthetic values can be perceived consciously or act in the subcon-
scious eld. The competence to judge aesthetics, which is called
taste, develops only by repeated evaluation, weighing of consciously Guideline 2: Good Proportions
perceived values, and training in visual appreciation. Therefore,
taste requires self-learning and self-education. There should be good proportion in all three dimensions between the
The formation of taste or the competence to judge aesthetic val- structural members or between length and depth of bridge openings.
ues has been severely neglected in this age, with the result that much The attraction of a three-span haunched girder results to a great
ugliness has been built that now disturbs us. If the causes for such extent from the favorable beam-to-depth ratio of 2 to 1 over the piers
negative results are traced, we must admit to a lack of education in and in the main span.
those elds that affect the psychological health of human beings. It For the 91-m (300-ft) main span of the U.S. Naval Academy
is mainly a lack of education in aesthetics and ethics, which are Bridge in Annapolis (Figure 4), a haunched three-span steel com-
closely related. posite central girder and constant-depth side spans were chosen.
Bridges belong to the built environment. If one recognizes the This clear system accentuates the main span and gives a certain
value and the importance of aesthetic qualities of the built environ- dynamic expression to the otherwise quiet bridge.
ment, it is necessary to make every effort to design bridges resulting For an arch bridge the structural depths of beam and arch must be
in a pleasing appearance. clearly different. In the case of the Tangermnde Arch (Figure 5) in
Germany, the bending stiffness is in the composite girder, whose
depth is the same in the main span as that required for the approaches.
AESTHETIC GUIDELINES The steel arch carries only compression and can therefore be slender.
By connecting the two single diamond-shaped towers of the twin
The design of attractive bridges does not happen by chance, nor does
Fred Hartmann Bridge (Figure 6) at deck level to a double diamond,
it exclusively depend on some elusive feel that is only given to a
a frame is created that carries transverse wind loads not in bending,
Leonhardt, Andr und Partner, Consulting Engineers, Lenzhalde 16, D - 70192 but in tension and compression. The tower legs can thus be very
Stuttgart, Germany. slender transversely. Although 137 m (450 ft) high, they appear light.
FIGURE 1 Schierstein Bridge, Germany. FIGURE 4 U.S. Naval Academy Bridge, Annapolis, Maryland.
There should be good order of all lines and edges of a structure that
determine the appearance. The number of directions should be
minimized.
In a truss there should be only rising and falling diagonals, which
also give an orderly impression if viewed from a skew angle.
For the haunched steel-composite Nantenbach Railway Bridge
truss in Germany ( Figure 7), with a record span of 214 m (700 ft),
the inclination of the diagonals is kept constant, and there are no
cross frames in order to reduce the number of different directions to
a minimum of two.
The cable-stayed concrete bridge across the Columbia River in
the United States ( Figure 8) uses the stay cables in an economic fan
arrangement, by which all stays radiate from the tower tops. The
visual intersection is mitigated because the many cables give the
impression of a veil. FIGURE 8 Pasco Bridge, Washington State.
If the tower legs are inclined to an A-shape and all cables are
anchored closely together at the tower top, the impression of a
single cable plane is approached and the number of visual inter-
sections is strongly reduced, as shown by the Huntington Bridge sides. Therefore the new bridge was also designed in the shape of a
( Figure 9). series of arches. The bridge terminates on both sides in half arches
to provide space for the riverwalks.
FIGURE 7 Nantenbach Railway Bridge, Germany (skew angle). FIGURE 9 Huntington Bridge, West Virginia.
4 Paper No. 5B0137 Transportation Research Record 1696
The space above the bridge should be shaped in such a way that the
driver experiences the bridge and gets a comfortable feeling.
FIGURE 10 U.S. Naval Academy Bridge (aerial view). The piers of the new South Havel Bridge in Berlin ( Figure 19)
were extended upward on both sides like a string of pearls for a
slow inner-city bridge. The bridge is used mainly by pedestrians.
Guideline 6: Coloring At each end of the U.S. Naval Academy Bridge in Annapolis two
columns above the deck are built as gateways ( Figure 20). Their
An important element for a pleasing appearance is the color. classical shape is reminiscent of the colonial (Georgian) architecture
One should not be afraid to color concrete by painting or admix- of old Annapolis.
tures if its regular gray color would disturb the harmony with its sur- For cable-stayed bridges two planes of cables are preferred. A dri-
roundings. In the case of the Schattenring Bridge ( Figure 16), the ver experiences these two cable planes as an enclosure, which gives
coloring has been chosen to t the surrounding forest. a comfortable feeling of safety when one is crossing the bridge. This
FIGURE 11 U.S. Naval Academy Bridge: parapets. FIGURE 13 Bonn South Bridge, Germany.
FIGURE 16 Schattenring Bridge, Germany.
FIGURE 18 Great River Bridge, Burlington, Iowa. FIGURE 21 Baytown Bridge, Texas.
FIGURE 20 U.S. Naval Academy Bridge: end piers. FIGURE 22 Torgau Bridge, Germany.
Svensson Paper No. 5B0137 7
Guideline 9: Lighting
SUMMARY
FIGURE 27 Great River Bridge, Burlington, Iowa. FIGURE 29 Weitingen Bridge, Germany.
Svensson Paper No. 5B0137 9
were Tamms, Tiedje, and Bonatz, to name only a few. Later their
work was continued by Lohmer. Experience shows that the collab-
oration on bridges between engineers and architects often fails
unless both have the required special knowledge and experience.
The collaboration between bridge design engineers and archi-
tects can show good results if both are prepared to listen to one
another. The architect has to be aware of the special requirements
for bridge design. The engineer must be the lead designer because
the design of a bridge is more governed by technical than aesthetic
requirements. A well-designed bridge will, however, satisfy both
requirements.
In design competitions, the jury should include a majority of engi-
neers. Otherwise a design may be awarded the rst prize but can
later not be built because of technical difficulties or excessive cost,
or both.
Technical and economic requirements need not be contradictory
FIGURE 30 Waiblingen Arch, Germany. to aesthetic excellence.