How did this design improve life?:
London Bridge Is Curling Up

A wonderful Northwest London solution to the problem of a creating an elegant, retractable bridge in a tight space is a bookofjoe Design Award 2004 Winner. The bridge may not solve chronic human problems like poverty, injustice and pollution, but amid the drab conformity of the cityscape, Thomas Heatherwick’s bridge is a salutary reminder that utilitarian delight and surprise also improve life.

It isn't every day that you see a steel bridge that lifts upward like a trained seal standing on its front flippers and curls itself into a ball - or, more precisely, an octahedron. The almost-40-foot-long remote-controlled hydraulic bridge - which spans an offshoot of the Grand Union Canal - is one of three that were commissioned for Paddington Basin, a mixed-use development in Northwest London.

Popularly known as the Rolling Bridge, it was designed for foot traffic by Thomas Heatherwick, a 34-year-old Briton whose multidisciplinary design studio has ventured into the realms of sculpture and architecture. ''The job of a bridge is to get out of the way,'' Heatherwick explains, but he says that most drawbridges look ''broken'' when angled in the air. ''We were looking for something more transformative.'' And more theatrical.

Heatherwick deliberately made the bridge structure appear ordinary, so that when it lies flat you won't give it a second look - until, that is, it begins its graceful gymnastics. ''How it works is the extraordinary aspect of it,'' he says. The bridge is an example of a body of work in which Heatherwick loves to confound expectations. In 1997, he designed a window display for Harvey Nichols in London that kept going, right onto the sidewalk. He is just a few weeks away from completing the tallest sculpture in England, outside a stadium in Manchester. A bit taller than the Statue of Liberty minus its base, it has been compared to a giant porcupine, and because people will drive under it, Heatherwick sees it as a piece of urban infrastructure. On a much smaller scale, his tote bag for Longchamp features a spiral zipper that allows the bag to expand. This is thoroughly in keeping with Heatherwick's belief that ''it's not enough to make a nice shape - it has to challenge in some way.''

Name of Designer(s):
Thomas Heatherwick

Designers professional status:
Professional

Status of realization:
Realized

Kind of design:
Tangible

Produced by:
Paddington Basin

Year of production, realization or publishing:
2004

Designed in country:
United Kingdom

Used on continents:
Europe

Short description of design:
A wonderful Northwest London solution to the problem of a creating an elegant, retractable bridge in a tight space is a bookofjoe Design Award 2004 Winner. The bridge may not solve chronic human problems like poverty, injustice and pollution, but amid the drab conformity of the cityscape, Thomas Heatherwick’s novel bridge is a salutary reminder that utilitarian delight and surprise also improve life. The 40-foot long remote-controlled hydraulic steel bridge lifts upward like a trained seal standing on its front flippers and curls itself into a ball - or, more precisely, an octahedron. A thoroughly utilitarian structure, the bridge has become an object of pleasure for locals and tourists alike.

Functionallity and use of design:
Spanning the mouth of a small dock off the Grand Union canal, the Rolling Bridge rests steady for foot traffic, but opens for boat navigation by curling upward and onto its one fixed support, like a scorpion’s tail. The 39.4-foot-long has a steel frame and timber deck and is hydraulically remote controlled.

Drawbacks of life improvement:
None

Research and need:
Not known