DUBAI 5TH CROSSING BRIDGE

CLIENT

RTA

ARCHITECT

FXCollaborative

YEAR

2009 - 2012

LOCATION

Dubai

VISUALS

AWA

Our concept for the Dubai Bridge Fifth Crossing competition was drawn from the symbol of the falcon and its significance as the national symbol of the UAE. The bridge was divided into distinct elements that are individually highlighted (akin to creating chords or notes in a symphony) and then combined to form a composition or symphony. The various lighting elements that we have designed and their relationship to the physical body and movements of the falcon, are as follows: wings (sails of the falcon), ribcage, eye, spine, wingspan, roadway, underbelly (panel of the falcon), and the diving arc of the bridge arch (stooping gesture of the hunting falcon.) The elements are divided into those which are stable and those which are mutable. The stable elements, such as the ribcage and spine, are brightly and continuously lit to suggest their strength and constancy. In contrast, the mutable elements, including the feathered wing cables and soft panel underbelly of the bridge, are illuminated with less intensity and have more of a fading or gradient effect. To highlight the falcons sails, we illuminated the inner cables of the bridge from their bases halfway up each cable, so that there is a feathering effect of the wings upper ends.

Dubai 5th Crossing Bridge

Dubai 5th Crossing Bridge