Bridging Communities

This is the first in a series of posts that tease out the issues surrounding any new scheme for a replacement bridge within the Swanbourne Village precinct. Main Roads [...]

Here you can see the Swanbourne bridge and the Swanbourne village as it was in the early 1890’s. R G Oldham's Railway Station & Shops The bridge [...]

My fear is that without a review of process in the design of a replacement bridge in Swanbourne Village, we could very well end up with a new bridge [...]

What can we learn from examining the current Seventh Avenue Bridge and its predecessor? At the site of the existing bridge there is a convenient reminder of the history [...]

The steel footbridge at Mt Lawley Train Station is the only access to the railway platform. What looks to be a temporary structure, is in fact a collection of [...]

With the design of any new object, that object can provide relevance and meaning beyond its purely utilitarian purpose. Bringing additional meaning through the incorporation of relevant references in [...]

European influence in the Swanbourne precinct seems to have commenced around the late 1880. From the State Heritage WA website: "Claremont Crescent developed from the late 1880s with a [...]

The former Swanbourne Hotel (Inter-War Art Deco) was located on the corner of Claremont Crescent and Franklin Street, now the site of ‘The Beaumont’ aged care building. The loss [...]

The Koombana Bay Footbridge over The Plug in the Leschenault Inlet in Bunbury is an example of a ‘design’ led solution and the value that such an approach brings [...]

I discovered this bridge while experiencing the 2016 Dulux / Design Institute of Australia DIAlogue Scholarship tour. This incredibly simple bridge is adjacent to the ‘Mountain Dwellings’ residential development [...]

This is another bridge that I discovered while experiencing the ‘Cirkelbroen’ bridge was designed by artist Olafur Elisson. This bridge is quite incredible and almost needs to be seen [...]

While on the 2016 Dulux / Design Institute of Australia DIAlogue Scholarship tour we met with the Stockholm based architect Erik Andersson. We spent time in his office discussing [...]

The Swedish National Road Administration commissioned Erik Andersson Architects to lead the design of all twenty new bridges within the new 57-kilometre-long ‘Motorway 73’ project. From the architect’s website: [...]

Erik Andersson Architects were commissioned by the City of Gothenbery, Sweden, to design a new pedestrian bridge within an historically important precinct. The bridge has been named after one [...]

This bridge serves pedestrians and cyclists, and was completed in Chengdu, China in 2018. The bridge was designed by ZZHK Architects. The bridge has been named ‘Ruyi’ after a [...]

Completed in 2018, awarded Irish architectural practice, O’Donnell + Tuomey, has designed a long span laminated beam over a waterway within the University College Campus in Cork, Ireland. The [...]

This new 25metre long bridge was designed by NEXT Architects and is located in the town of Monster, Netherlands. The concrete, brick and timber clad bridge is located along [...]

The timber pedestrian bridge across the railway line at Claremont Station is a remaining example of the type of bridge that was found at numerous Perth to Fremantle line [...]

The Dawson's Garden Centre within the Swanbourne Village forms an integral part of the success of the local commercial centre. The garden centre draws people from outside the immediate [...]

The railway was laid in 1881 through land in the locality that is now Swanbourne as owned by Patrick Quinn, a Military Pensioner (Hillbrick, LN1977 IN pas Region – [...]

In researching bridges in the vicinity of Swanbourne Village, I came across the book ‘Heritage of Pines: a history of the town of Cottesloe Western Australia’ written by Ruth [...]

The Post Newspaper recently reported the official opening of the Ashton Avenue Bridge (otherwise known as the Showgrounds Bridge) by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti (15.9.19). The $10millon dollar bridge [...]

The difference between a utilitarian solution where the driving force is simply a compliance to standards and that of a ‘design led’ solution is the consideration of a broader [...]

From this diagram, central to the ‘Swanbourne Village’ is the existing bridge and the railway station. Businesses exist to both sides of the railway line central to the bridge. [...]

The ‘Swanbourne Village’ centre is comprised of three parts. To the north side along Claremont Crescent is the existing commercial area in a row of shops that have existed [...]

The Swanbourne Village precinct has history and a unique village atmosphere. The bridge redevelopment offers a chance to create a unique transport-oriented ‘town centre’, and the potential to unlock [...]

Here comes the cavalry! With Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA) having settled their preferred location for a new bridge and now working towards design and costing of the proposed [...]

This new pedestrian bridge provides access across a busy road to provide local community with access to Moore Park in Sydney as part of the Sydney light rail project. [...]

The new Hamilton Street Bridge in Subiaco is the latest new bridge in as part of the State Government bridge replacement program. I would say that this standard utilitarian [...]

Compare the pair. An underwhelming, reflective, and unattractive utilitarian solution that uses far more steel in its construction than does a well-designed light weight alternative. The utilitarian screening has [...]

It is important that the replacement bridge for vehicles, and the potential ‘refurbishment’ of the existing bridge for bikes and pedestrians within the Swanbourne Village provides a civic feel [...]

The City of Hobart commissioned this new bicycle and pedestrian bridge known as ‘Brooker Bridge’ over busy roads in Hobart. The bridge has been described as operating like a [...]

I recently discovered this excellent new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Regents Canal in London known as ‘Somers Town Bridge’. This elegant, slender and light weight steel bridge was [...]

Here you can see the Swanbourne Village Bridge and the village at the train station site as it was in the early 1900’s. The following is a letter to [...]

This is a photo of the former footbridge at the Bayswater train station form the early 1900’s. Bayswater Station, 1900 The Fremantle to Midland train line has [...]

This is an image as prepared by Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA) of the proposed replacement traffic bridge adjacent to the Swanbourne Village. MRWA were given the task by [...]

The future opportunities for the development of Swanbourne Village needs to be seen within the greater context of the wider locality. From this diagram it can be seen that [...]

A vision for the community in the form of a ‘sustainable future’ for the Swanbourne Village. Here is my own vision that respects the existing unique character of the [...]

Main Roads Western Australia’s proposed location for the replacement bridge will require the existing Dawsons Garden centre to move from its current location. The Dawsons Garden Centre is located [...]

The proposed new replacement vehicle bridge as designed by Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA) requires a ramp to its southern side to make connection with the existing ground level [...]

Most important to the ongoing viability of the local centre of the Swanbourne Village is the central connectivity of pedestrians and cyclists through the village on both sides of [...]

The existing Swanbourne train station lacks any presence to the street, with very understated points of entry, it is almost as if the points of entry to the Swanbourne [...]

I propose that the new civic spaces in my scheme for the sustainable future of the Swanbourne Village can serve as areas for weekend markets. What a wonderful experience [...]

The local community, and in particular, the Saladin Street residents, are concerned that the proposed relocated replacement bridge will create such efficiency in vehicle transfer across the bridge that [...]

We have the potential to create a community centre within the Swanbourne Village that reflects a memory of place for the area's history. Historical events and stories that can [...]

There is exciting potential for all new work within the Swanbourne Village centre to achieve high standards of sustainability. The Swanbourne Village precinct is uniquely placed to be able [...]

Further to my post #40 in this series, there are of course many alternative options for the design of a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to connect the communities on [...]