The Weave Bridge is a 145 ft (44 m) bridge at The University of Pennsylvania, USA which was conceptualized by Cecil Balmond[1] and engineered by Ammann & Whitney. It was commissioned by the University in 2007, and opened in June 2009.[2]
The bridge creates a pedestrian passage over the Amtrak train tracks that currently separate the main campus from athletic fields along the Schuylkill River. The design features a "braided rope" structure consisting of six steel strands. It marks the first milestone in the University's plan to transform a former postal depot into a 24-acre (97,000 m2) complex, called Penn Park.[2] The design uses a "never before used bridge structure" [3] It is in keeping with Balmond's purusal of a "non-linear world,[4] and his principle that "structure as conceptual rigour is architecture." His dynamic and organizational approach to structure is informed by the sciences of complexity, non-linear organization and emergence.
The design obviates the use of conventional longitudinal supporting beams.[3] According to Esquire magazine:"The span is a poetic solution to a pedestrian problem."[5] Balmond founded and runs the University of Pennsylvania's Non-Linear Systems Organization, a research group he set up to explore ways in which architecture can demonstrate, test and apply insights from mathematics and sciences.[6] He currently holds the Paul Philippe Cret chair as Professor of Architecture at PennDesign.[7] Cecil Balmond realized the design through Arup's AGU, an experimental research and design unit he founded in 2000.[8] Balmond joined Arup in 1968 and is Deputy Chairman.[9]