As part of the construction of the new boat club and training facility for Oxford University, we were commissioned to design a swing bridge across the proposed new wet dock entrance in order to maintain public right of way along the Thames Path.
The brief was to create an elegant, low maintenance swing bridge that could be constructed within a relatively tight budget. Drawing on influence from canal lock gate mechanisms, we developed a cantilevered bridge with counterweighted back span, operated via a push handle on the riverbank.
Recesses were formed in the banks of the dock entrance to accommodate the swing of the counterweight and to provide a flush access for pedestrians/cyclists.
The challenge was placing the swing bridge which, due to the sequence of the build programme, required the bridge to be craned into position over the top of the newly constructed club house.
