The Art of Bridge Design

It is hard to imagine a world without bridges. Bridges lie at the heart of our civilization bringing growth and prosperity to our society. It is by virtue of bridges that communities are able to physically connect to new people and to new places that were previously disconnected. However, bridges are more than mere functional assets. A well designed bridge reflects mankind’s creativity and ingenuity. One could even state that the way bridges are designed tells us something about our identity.

The way that our bridges are commissioned, designed and procured is rapidly changing. Ideally the design of a bridge is made through an integrated approach that addresses all relevant technological angles, practiced by all involved disciplines through all phases of the design. In reality, many different people from many different disciplines work on the design during different phases of the project. The segregation of knowledge into discipline-specific fields, and the fragmented approach to bridge procurement, have resulted in a general lack of cohesion in bridge design. Critical investigation into how to pursue good integrated design is absent. Therefor the objective of this research is to identify a design approach, through all scales of the design, that leads to bridges that are well-integrated, that are integrally-designed and that are valued by society.

Accordingly, the main research question of the dissertation is: How can we identify a design approach, through all scales of the design, that leads to bridges that are wellintegrated, that are integrally-designed and that are valued by society?