A person walks across a modern bridge over a river, with a ferry sailing below. The skyline features tall, glass skyscrapers under a pastel sky, creating a cityscape backdrop.

Greenwich Reach Bridge

London, England

2013 — 2015

Client Galliard Homes

Infrastructure · Foot & Cycle

The Greenwich Reach Swing Bridge completes the riverside Thames Path, reaching 44m across the mouth of Deptford Creek, its support cables spanning from a single plated steel mast. Long planned as part of the development at Greenwich Reach, the opening bridge is a crucial piece of public infrastructure in a sensitive Central London location.

A modern suspension footbridge crosses a river at dusk, with illuminated city skyscrapers in the background and their reflections visible in the water below.

A modern apartment building with many lit windows stands behind a riverside footbridge at dusk. The bridge crosses over water, and a few older brick buildings are visible in front of the modern structure.

‘Through simplicity of form and operation, and structural efficiency, this bridge is exemplary in its use and expression of plated steelwork.’

Structural Steel Design Awards, Jury Citation 2015

The bridge’s edge features a tapered cross section, making it seem thinner than it actually is, and an open truss soffit. The lightness of its main span, however, is contrasted by the extended back span (which contains the bridge’s counterweight and opening mechanism), which is a weighty, multifaceted box. The imbalance emphasises the bridge as a dynamic, moving system.