Architecture studio Tonkin Liu has built a biomimicry-informed pivoting bridge to an island containing 19th-century concrete models of dinosaurs in Crystal Palace, south London.
Built to replace a structure that was removed in 2017, Tonkin Liu's swing bridge provides access to a group of 167-year-old concrete dinosaurs on an island in Crystal Palace Park.
Believed to be the first dinosaur sculptures in the world, the concrete structures were built at the same time as the Crystal Palace structure that held the Great Exhibition was moved from Hyde Park to south London.
Tonkin Liu's swing bridge provides access to Dinosaur Island in Crystal Palace Park
The pivoting bridge was designed by Tonkin Liu, with structural engineering by Arup, and built by local fabricator Cake Industries for charity Friends of Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs, which maintains the sculptures. It will only be swung to connect the banks when needed for staff to maintain the dinosaurs or lead educational trips to the island.
When not in use the bridge, which is supported on a single central column, was designed to be a sculptural object set within the lake.
The bridge is swung when it is needed
"Spatially a swing bridge was the most enriching solution," said Tonkin Liu co-founder Mike Tonkin.
"It provides a floating sculpture when the bridge is not in use and negates the need for a bulky lockable gate," he told Dezeen.
"This is a 21st-century structural artwork that has grown ou...