View 1 - captured in this
painting, the floating
bridge was a chain-link
ferry that operated from
1840 - 1959, between
Gosport and 'the point'.
View 2 - view from the
harbour looking back to
'the point' as captured in
the painting. The point is
just at the opening of the
camber, near to my site.
V1
V2
Fig 6 - On the Point Portsmouth, William Smyth (1857)
The Bridge that
operated on my site
between 1839 - 1925
was a 'double leaf swing'
bridge, usinf a pivoting
action.
N
Fig 7 - The Floating Bridge off Gosport, (c1840)
Historical Influence
Inspired by the historic bridge that once spanned
between the fish market and tavern, I carried out
further research on the history of the bridges
in the harbour. The Floating bridge off Gosport,
along with the study of Aldo Rossi's floating
theatre has inspired be to design a floating bridge
that operates on a chain-link mechanism. I chose
this method of link because I felt a responsibility
to maintain a sense of historic narrative and not
to create an intrusive and overbearing structure.
The form of the link also adopted the
archetypal house shape, as shown in the
developmental sketches and model below. This
form allowed me to create a 'tumble' visualisation
and the 'push' and 'release' concepts were also
combined.
Conservation
Fig 8 - Floating Theatre Venice, Aldo Rossi (1979)
The Link
Chain-link
Release
Pedestrian
Floating
Bridge
Connect
18