The new Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane will become the world’s largest tensegrity bridge in the world.
The pedestrian and cycle bridge, which uses distributed tension to hold islands of compression, was designed by Cox Rayner Architects and Arup.
The $63 million project connects Brisbane’s CBD with the city’s South Bank and its major cultural precinct.
Lead architect, Michael Rayner, said the tensegrity system was used on the bridge because the inherent strength in the tensegrity system meant that the deck could be very thin.
The 900mm deck enabled the architects to minimize the ramp down which otherwise would have eaten into Kurilpa Park, while still being 11 metres above the bank.
Measuring 470 metres long and 6.5 metres wide, the Kurilpa Bridge has several viewing decks and a full length canopy, it being supported by secondary tensegrity structure.
