Lachlan’s Line | KI Studio | World Design Awards 2021

KI Studio: Winner of World Design Awards 2021. The sinuous spiraling electric blue structure, integrates seamlessly with the landscape and new park, delivering a unique design and a memorable bridge that meets the brief in both function and outstanding elegance.

Key inspiration was to create a sculpture in the landscape that users experience, whilst reinforcing the identity of the new precinct of Lachlan’s Line.

The design itself combines form, texture, space, colour and motion, creating a stimulating user experience, as if walking through a sculpture, making the journey more engaging and unique, delivering a memorable landmark in both function and elegance.

The design challenge

Identifying a superstructure for the bridge that is sympathetic to the site, unique and striking as a landmark. Integrating the structure into its setting and identifying an alignment that is sensitive to the site constraints, yet direct and user-friendly.

Creating a crossing that is safe and pleasant for users, whilst also designing a structure that is unique and memorable from within and outside. Green walls were integral to the early design concept, but later deleted.

The design Impact

This Bridge is critical to providing safe shared pedestrian and cycle access for the Lachlan’s Line community to public transport and the existing cycle networks. The Bridge acts as a landmark and transforms transport infrastructure from providing “just a bridge” to providing a visually engaging, fun and aesthetically pleasing outcome.

It reflects design excellence and an urban design outcome of internationally high calibre that the community will embrace.

The lightness of the structure was achieved through a creative design approach, combined with state of the art software, in a collaborative design process between architect and engineers.

Function

The bridge rises in one sweeping motion, creating a functional and direct route that transitions into a multi-functional park with meeting places, seating steps and sweeping lawns, marking the arrival into the precinct.

The design process was informed by site constraints and follows optimal desire lines, minimises the height of the bridge deck above road level and delivers a highly legible form that expresses its function with clarity and distinction.

Sustainability

The project promotes the use of public transport and encourages walking and cycling as part of an active lifestyle.

The alignment of the bridge was optimised to create the shortest bridge possible, creating a user friendly crossing whilst minimising material use. The structure itself was optimised to minimise steel tonnage and expressing the flow of forces with its organic form. The alignment minimises the impact on the existing green spaces.

Landscape design promotes re-establishing the species from the indigenous Turpentine Ironbark vegetation community, along with low water demand plants and water sensitive design.

Quality

Through close collaboration between architect, engineers and fabricators and the use of an entirely digital workflow, Christopher Cassaniti Bridge is at the forefront of bridge design.

The unique dialating double helix design is a world first and grounded on design efficiency to form an optimised organic shape that reflects the structural function of the bridge.

Project Details
Firm
KI Studio

Project Name
Lachlan’s Line

Architect/Designer
KI Studio

World Design Awards Category
Landscape Design Built

Project Location
Sydney

Team
Miguel Wustemann & Judy van Gelderen

Country
Australia

Photography ©Credit
©Guy Wilkinson

KI STUDIO

KI Studio is a design studio which practices integrated Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Urban Planning in Australia and overseas. The firm brings international project experience from Germany, the USA, Malaysia, China and Australia with more than thirty five year’s experience working in Australia in the field of landscape architecture.

Our broad interdisciplinary focus on a variety of urban, architectural and landscape projects internationally allows us to draw from a widespread expertise and experience to deliver uniquely integrated solutions to complex planning projects, facilitating a vision to be created from a single mould.