Illuminated steel and glass bridge ‘New Street Square Bridges’ between two illuminated office buildings with glass facades over a street in London

steel-and-glass bridges link office buildings

bridges span 12 m over a london city street

At the New Street Square in London, seele designed and built two glass bridges for the new headquarters of Deloitte UK and North and South Europe. The two pedestrian bridges cross a street, creating a seamless link between the buildings and their workspaces and staff areas.

 

lower and upper bridges made of glass and steel

The glass bridges, a lower bridge on level 1 and an upper bridge on level 7, each span approximately 12 m. Their sides are made of insulated glass panels measuring 4 x 3 m, while the roof is made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) and a continuous skylight of 12 insulated glass panels. Ramps and stairs compensate for the differences in height between the buildings, resulting in the distinctive monocoque design of the bridge deck, which is clad with triangular stainless steel plates in a zig-zag pattern.

monocoque design for the glass bridges

London’s famous double-decker buses pass beneath the steel-and-glass bridges, and because the lower bridge crosses just above the buses, the soffit panels were affixed directly to the monocoque structure to create additional space. Monocoque means that the bridge deck itself acts as the load-bearing element, eliminating the need for additional internal supports, allowing the glass bridges to be slimmer and more elegant while maintaining high stability.

Façade type
Steel-and-glass design
Client
Deloitte LLP
Contractor
Overbury
Engineer
Eckersley O’Callaghan
Architect
Wilkinson Eyre
Awards

2022 Bridge Award (best bridge design over 5 m)

Two steel and glass bridges one above the other with glass panes arranged in a zigzag pattern connect two office buildings over a busy street
The interior of the steel and glass New Street Square Bridge with large glass panes on the sides, metal handrails on two balustrades made of single posts and a descending staircase connecting to a building

glass bridges with sophisticated structural design

The glass bridges required highly advanced structural planning. Local conditions limited the depth of the main steel structure, increasing its susceptibility to oscillation. Additionally, the glass bridges had to account for building deformation and thermal expansion of the adjacent façades.

installation of the glass bridges in central london

Not only the use and precision fabrication of different materials such as steel, glass, aluminium and GRP, but also the installation posed unique challenges. seele developed a special installation concept, prefabricating the glass bridges in our plant and assembling them on site as a complete unit. The tight space between the buildings required careful consideration, as there was only 10 cm of clearance at each end of the bridges.

 

#madebyseele

Design, production and installation of the lower bridge (level 1) and upper bridge (level 7)

12 m
span
22 t
weight of steel per bridge
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