COMBINING the rich blue sky and the Brindabellas in the distance; the design of the new blue screens on the Kent Street bridge over Adelaide Avenue, are all about the aesthetics says Roads ACT director Tony Gill.
Although the practical purpose of the bridge is safety, to “limit rocks and missiles” thrown off the bridge on to traffic, the new Plexiglass screen, that cost about $700,000, is the first of many to be installed on selected bridges in the city and town centres.
However bridges in outer suburbs will retain the metal wire mesh screens that cost about $500,000.
Mr Gill said the installation has been an ongoing project, in consultation with the National Capital Authority, as part of a policy introduced in 2008.
“As we got closer to the city, NCA thought the look of the treatment was a more important consideration,” Mr Gill said.
The National Capital Plan includes provisions that require: “…planning and development in Canberra Central in particular and generally throughout the Territory, should have high aesthetic and environmental quality. Planning controls should seek to ensure that development in all
forms, including landscaping in urban and non-urban areas, complements and enriches its surroundings.”
forms, including landscaping in urban and non-urban areas, complements and enriches its surroundings.”
Mr Gill said part of the NCA’s role was the urban design for the route into the national capital, and for that reason the screens needed a more aesthetic solution than the metal mesh.
“We’ve had a mixed reaction to it,” he said.
“Some people think it’s quite nice and other people think it’s ghastly.”
Urban design company Thylacine came up with the “site specific” design of the screens.
“It really is a response to the environment, and where the bridge is,” Thylacine creative director Caolán Mitchell said. “In this case, when you drive over the hill, you see expansive sky.”
The company used a newly developed technology from German company Plexiglass for the screen. The acrylic sheet is stronger than glass and most paints can be washed off.
It also can be produced into a custom-made colour.
Mr Mitchell said the company worked with a surveyor to map the typography of the area, then etched topographic line work on to the Plexiglass to create the pattern.
The company is also working on the Cotter Road bridge on Adelaide Avenue, that will see a site specific metal mesh design.
“Because the Kent Street bridge is so vibrant, the design on the second bridge is a bit more recessive,” he said.
Work has already begun on the next screen on the Chandler Street bridge in Belconnen.
It will be of the same blue colour, keeping with the design of the Belconnen town centre improvements project. The installation is expected to be complete by the end of April.
The company is also developing designs for four more sites.
“We spend so much money on road infrastructure,” Mr Mitchell said. “It doesn’t take much more to improve on that.
“Canberra has been quite safe for a while. So it’s is good to see people take risks on design.”
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