by WilkinsonEyre

Bridge of Aspiration, Royal Ballet School

Twisting high above Floral Street in Covent Garden, the Bridge of Aspiration provides the dancers of the Royal Ballet School with a direct link to the Grade I listed Royal Opera House. The award-winning design addresses a series of complex contextual issues, and is legible both as a fully integrated component of the buildings it links and as an independent architectural element.

The skewed alignment and different levels of the landing points dictate the form of the crossing, which is geometrically and structurally simple. A concertina of 23 square portals with glazed intervals are supported from an aluminium spine beam. These rotate in sequence for the skew in alignment, performing a quarter-turn overall along the length of the bridge. The result is an elegant intervention high above the street, which evokes the fluidity and grace of dance.

DetailsLocation: London, UK Client: Royal Ballet School Architect: WilkinsonEyre Structural Engineer: Flint & Neill PartnershipSpan: 9.5m Value: £800k Date: Completed March 2003

AwardsAluProgetto Award 2006 Footbridge Award (aesthetics/short span) 2005 Balthasar Neumann Award 2004 (shortlisted) RIBA Award 2004 RFAC Trust/BSkyB Building of the Year Award, Bridge Category 2004 Civic Trust Award 2004 British Construction Industry Awards 2003, Special Award