< PreviousDesired objects commercialinteriordesign.com September 2021 50 Gateshead Millennium Bridge opened to the public on September 17, 2001. The 126-metre-long pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spans the River Tyne in the North East of England, connecting the city of Newcastle with the Gateshead Quays art and culture quarter to the south, including the Sage Gateshead cultural centre, designed by leading architects Foster + Partners. Wilkinson Eyre's competition-winning design features two slender steel arches. The fi rst is a gently curving deck that carries a footpath and a cycle lane, while the other is a 50m high parabolic arc from which the deck is suspended on cables. The bridge is sometimes referred to as the 'Blinking Eye Bridge' or the 'Winking Eye Bridge' due to its shape and its tilting method. When large boats need to pass through, hydraulic rams powered by electric motors rotate the bridge back on huge bearings. This creates a motion that resembles that of a slowly opening eyelid. The hi-tech bridge also cleans up its own litter – when it tilts open anything dropped on the deck rolls down and gets caught in bespoke rubbish traps at each end. The structure was built in sections in Bolton, transported nearly 241 kilometres and assembled just outside of Newcastle at Wallsend, a town in North Tyneside, before being shipped to its location and dropped onto its concrete foundations Gateshead Millennium Bridge Wilkinson Eyre's competition-winning design marks its anniversary Millennium Bridge on The River Tyne by Chris Lishman by Europe's largest fl oating crane, Asian Hercules II. The Millennium Bridge stands as the sixteenth tallest structure in the city, and is shorter in stature than the neighbouring Tyne Bridge. Bollards installed to protect the structure from collisions were removed in 2012 to improve aesthetics. For the construction of the bridge, the architect Wilkinson Eyre won the 2002 Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize and Gifford the 2003 IStructE Supreme Award. In 2005, the project received the Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. Constructing the Millennium Bridge is said to have cost £22 million (AED 111m).Where our heart beats – Lindner Lindner Metal Ceilings, Demountable Partitions and Floor Systems demonstrate their outstanding properties in any thriving business environment. Lay the foundation of your project on high-quality fit-out with exceptional comfort, flexibility and environmental friendliness. www.Lindner-Group.com Middleeast@Lindner-Group.com Nishith Desai Associates (NDA), Alibag, India © Ales PhotographyNext >