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4 International Conference

ON THE AESTHETICS AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY


OF CURRENT ARCHED FOOTBRIDGES

Kazimierz FLAGA Krystyna JANUSZKIEWICZ


Professor PhD arch.
Cracov University of Technology Cracov University of Technology
Cracow, Poland Cracow, Poland
kflaga@pk.edu.pl krystyna_januszkiewicz@wp.pl

Summary
The study comprises technical and aesthetic analysis of three arched single-span steel pedestrian footbridges of similar
span length, regarded as original and, in their category, considered to be outstanding bridge structures. These include
the following footbridges: Campo Volantin over the River Nervion in Bilbao, a tilt footbridge over the River Tyne in
Gateshead, and a footbridge over the River Vistula in Cracow. An architectural and aesthetic analysis of the above
solutions was carried out as well as the evaluation of their technical efficiency.

Keywords: arched footbridge; technical efficiency; aesthetic; structural concepts.

1. Introduction
The issue of aesthetics of bridges is not new. Even Socrates (5th century BC) stated that any work created by man
should be: functional, durable and beautiful, and Vitruvius (1st century BC) in relation works of architecture proposed the
triad: function, structure and beauty. To this day these rules are observed for the work to suit the growing demands of
man, not only technical but also aesthetic ones. Demand for the beauty is increasing with the development of civilization
and culture of societies interested in improving living conditions. When basic needs are satisfied, spiritual needs are
becoming increasingly important - it results from an increasing knowledge and awareness. Fr. Leonhardt, R. Walther,
Chr. Menn and T. Y. Lin, among others, took notice of these issues. Fr. Leonhardt notes, "Knowing that the public will
evaluate the aesthetic value of structures, it is clear that the engineer is obliged to treat them very seriously. Engineers
often complain that their position and reputation in the society decreases. This is more or less their fault. If they continue
to build ugly structures they will be called technocrats, but if they create beautiful structures they will be praised and
respected. Thus, it is in their own interest to take care of the aesthetic quality of their projects" [1].
Ren Walter wrote: "It is often said that the beauty of the bridge depends on its static and structural logic. It is
undoubtedly the truth which applies both to large-span bridges, suspension bridges and arch bridges, where the issue of
the bridge strength dominates its appearance and can be easily appreciated even by a layman. Here the principle is
confirmed that form follows function, and that the requirements for the conceptual design can be "satisfied only by
qualified engineers." He further notes that some "examples show that the architect may positively influence the
appearance of the bridge, provided that he or she has had sufficient experience in designing bridges. Unfortunately,
some architects are risking design of a bridge with no experience and knowledge of things, trusting their genius." He
adds, however, that "Although the principles of statics are the most important for a well-designed bridge, they need not
be treated as immutable dogma. Minor deviations from the strict rules of statics can be justified by a desire to achieve a
specific architectural effect. For example, the construction of the famous bridge Salginatobel, the work of Robert Maillart,
is hardly explainable by the principles of statics, although one might try to do so. Probably Maillart, who was not only a
great engineer, but also had great architectural abilities, was guided by the elegance of this form. Today this bridge is
considered to be a masterpiece" [2].
Christian Menn expressly states that "The design of the bridges is more important than their simple technical function.
Optimization of economy and elegance, requires more than mastery being a component of engineering, it requires
creativity, imagination and sensitivity to art. All these talents constitute only the art of engineering." And further: "It is
worrying that the engineers (more and more often authors' note) do not have any influence on the shape of the bridge

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Inspirations and Limitations in Footbridge Design

structure, they become secondary participants in designing, responsible exclusively for static calculations. This effect
must be stopped, and it can only be achieved by designing technologically modern and beautiful bridges and a guiding
role of the engineer in any cooperation with the architect during the design of bridges. [3].
A bridge structure should contribute to create what in architecture and urbanism is meant by a place or what was felt to
be understood as a genius loci. E. Ralph claims that a place is defined by these properties which confer individual quality
to the surrounding - and the surrounding may be a city, a district, a residential area or a single structure [13]. This, it
might seem, elusive genius loci became a springboard for numerous scientific investigations, finding its connotations not
only urban and architectural, but also psychological and sociological. For example, Ch. Norbert-Schulz formulates the
concept of a place as a basic element of human existential space [14]. The question therefore arises whether a bridge
structure can result in the locations, which are deprived of character, gaining a new quality.

2. The Arched Footbridges - Three Cases


An arch was a form which united engineering and architecture in the old days, when designers and builders were known
as architects, even if they were also engineers. Although the term architecture comes from the word Arche which is arch,
it should be realized that modern science and engineering have evolved since the form and application of the arch could
be very extended." And he continues: "An arch is a pure and unique form, the form of expression of the flow of forces
and aesthetic appearance. [4]. Designers of bridge structures willingly refer to arch structural forms, exposing their
expression and beauty. A comparison of the characteristics of the three was presented below- selected arched
pedestrian footbridges executed in years 1997, 2001 and 2010 in three countries such as Spain, Great Britain and
Poland, with their spans of 75.0 m, 105.0 m and 148.0 m, respectively.

2.1 Campo Volantin Footbridge Across the River Nervion in Bilbao


It is a steel footbridge suspended from a bent parabolic arch, with the span of 75.0 m and the height of the arch of 14.6
m (f / l = 1 / 5, 1) by Santiago Calatrava (Fig 1a). The arch of a steel tube with a diameter of 457 mm and wall thickness
of 50 mm is fastened with a tubular beam (tie) with the same cross-section, but additionally equipped with two-sided cast
iron cantilevers, supporting the bottom of a glass walkway (Fig.1f-g). The walkway, which has about 4.50 m of utility
width, in the width of the object consists of 14 glass plate elements with dimensions of 28 x 180 cm, comprised in steel

Fig.1a Footbridge Campo Volantin over Nervion river, Bilbao,1997, l = 75 m

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b) c)

d) f)

e)

g)

Fig.1 Footbridge Campo Volantin over Nervion river, Bilbao,1997, l = 75 m:


plan view (b);the frame structure of ramps (c); footbridge details d-e-f-g [5]

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Inspirations and Limitations in Footbridge Design

profiles, filling the plane of the walkway on the footbridge (Fig.f-g). A 70-cm-wide galvanized steel grate runs on the
external side of the walkway (Fig.1d-e). The walkway rises 8.5 m above the level of the River Nervion. Rib deck of 41 I
beams together with the walkway have been suspended on both sides from the load bearing arch with frail steel ties
(Fig. 1d-e-f), making it appear a frozen in motion, dynamic structure. The total structural width of the deck amounts to 6.5
7.5 m [5]. The footbridge does not have classic lateral supports - abutments this function is performed by reinforced
concrete supports of the ramp framework construction, leading from both sides of the footbridge (Fig.1b, 1f). 4.0 m wide
ramps and stairs, directing the movement of pedestrians and cyclists from the quay to the level of the footbridge (+7.0
m), are made of white, reinforced concrete. All barriers and handrails are made of polished stainless steel. However, all
the steel load bearing elements were painted white.
a) b)

c) d)

e) f)

Fig. 2 Gateshead Millenium Bridge over Tyne river, Newcastle-Gaetshead,2001, l =105,0 m [17], [15] (a), (b); cross section of the
parabolic steel arch reduces from the roots to the apex [7] (c); cross section of curved pedestrian and cycle deck, showing central
steel hedge and bench [7] (d); cross section through end support, showing location of the 450 mm diameter opening rams [6] (e);
longitudinal section of the bridge, showing underlying fissured coal measures [6]

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2.2 Gateshead Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne in Newcastle and Gateshead
Completed in 2001, moving tilting bridge for pedestrians, is the first bridge structure, whose design and documentation
were all carried out electronically in 3D [8] (Fig 2, 3). The engineers at Gilford Graham & Partners and the architect
Wilkinson Eyre, using the analytical program LUSAS, in 1997 designed a bridge, which consisted of two parabolic
arches, both in the projection and elevation 2f. The larger of them, the towering one, surmounting the River Tyne,
reaches the span of 105.0 m and the height of 45.0 m (f / L = 1 / 2, 3). The second one is the pedestrian and bicycle
deck with a length of 126.0 meters and the total width of 6.90 m (4.10 m - walkway for pedestrians, 2.50 m - bicycle path,
0.60 m - a separating barrier). The total width of the deck construction amounts to 8.50 m.
Rotation of the bridge along the horizontal axis by an angle of 40 degrees provides a 25.0-meter clearance for a width of
30 m of a navigation channel, needed for navigation. When it is closed to the river traffic, the deck rises 4.5 m above the
level of the River Tyne. Using a computer program complete models of spatial system in various stages of its work were
generated, together with the necessary static and dynamic analysis, with varying impact of external factors and
behaviour of the materials.

Fig.3 Most Gateshead Millenium oraz centrum muzyki Sage Gateshead [17]
Gateshead Millennium pedestrian bridge not only does it connect the two cities, namely Newcastle and Gateshead, but
is also a spatial landmark. With the Sage Gateshead Music Centre (1997-2004) by Foster & Partners (Fig 3) is an
expression of the new digital technology, aimed at building smoothly modelled forms. Figures 2c-f show construction
details of the footbridge. Metal plate thickness of the cross-section of the load bearing arch (Fig.2c) is 35 mm. The top of
the steel box, arched deck (Fig 2d) is coated with a layer of slip-free epoxy mortar, and the cantilevers spaced
approximately every 3.0 m, are loaded with a lightweight aluminium bicycle path (Fig.2b). 18 stay-cables, spaced
approximately every 6.0 m, are made of spirally twisted ropes with a diameter of 48 mm [6], [7].

2.3 Father Bernatek's Footbridge over the River Vistula in Cracow


The conceptual design for the footbridge was created in the architectural competition and was developed in the Authors'
Design and Art Studio of prof. Andrzej Getter in Cracow. Unfortunately, [9] "when selecting the option and during the
construction design stage, engineering aspects of the construction were downplayed. The main drawbacks are as
follows:
errors in foundation structure as a consequence of the adopted static scheme and design solutions, -
unfavourable formation of the deck route in the plan, with the widest place in the middle of the span,
lack of ability to transfer unbalanced and apparent loads.
Immediately upon selecting a Contractor for the object, the weaknesses of the primary solution were revealed, and the
consortium of Promost Consulting Rzeszw, Consulting and Design Office towski and ZB-P Mosty Wrocaw have
developed a replacement bridge construction design in which the only structural element of the original elaboration was
the tube of the arch structure [9] . This is a classic example of the lack of cooperation between the architect and designer

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Inspirations and Limitations in Footbridge Design

during the conceptual design stage, in which the architects (in this case artists) are risking a design of a bridge with no
experience and knowledge of things, trusting their genius [2]. Fortunately, a replacement executive project was in the
hands of real Bridge Engineers, who made this bridge a technically and aesthetically interesting engineering object
(Fig. 4).
a)

b) c)

Fig. 4 Father Bernatek's footbridge over the River Vistula in Cracow, 2010, l = 148 m [16] (a); plan view of the bridge [10] (b); cross
section of the footbridge [9] (c)

Footbridge load bearing structure [10] consists of a flat steel arch of a circular curvature with a tie with a span of 148.0 m
and the height of 15.34 m (f /L = 1 / 9,6), fixed at the ends to the reinforced concrete abutments. Compressed tie rod was
used to minimize the horizontal loads on the foundations of the arch abutments, founded in adverse conditions. An arch
beam is a double shell steel tube. The diameter of the outer tube is 2020/17,5 mm, and of the inner tube it is 1620/12, 5
mm. The space between the tubes was filled with SCC concrete, class C 30/37.

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d) e)

f)

Fig. 4 d-e-f. Father Bernatek's footbridge details [d-J.Zych], [16]

A bipartite steel deck of horizontal arches - with a total length of 137.0 meters, consisting of two independent bicycle
and pedestrian lanes with the width of 3.0 m each, is suspended from a single arch beam. The structure the deck
consists of, spaced every 5.0 m,crossbars made of steel tubes with 508 mm of variable length from 10.5 to 17.5 m,
suspended from the arch beam by diagonal cable hangers with 38 mm in the X system, which in the cross section
form an isosceles triangle with the crossbars 4f. The crossbars are braced horizontally using wind ties in the X system
made of steel tubes with 216mm (Fig. 4b-c).
Supporting crossbars have a diameter of 800 mm and are connected rigidly to the arch beam by means of welded joints,
ensuring its fixing in reinforced concrete abutments. Bipartite deck steel plates with an orthotropic structure rigidly
connected to the crossbars, are based on the crossbars. A wooden deck, from exotic wood "Azobe Bongossi" of high
hardness and great utility values, was placed on the steel plates, in accordance with the architectural design. A two-
sided longitudinal decline from 0.5% to 4.5% with the highest point in the middle of the footbridge was formed in order to
effectively drain the deck."[10]. Numerical calculations of the footbridge were performed using MES method in the
system environment SOFISTiK.

3. Architectural and Aesthetic Analysis of the Presented Cases


The above-mentioned footbridges belong to a group of solutions of high aesthetic value. Also, their static and dynamic
analysis would be impossible without the application of advanced digital design tools. In the case of Gateshead
Millennium footbridge, 374 steel structural and filling elements were modelled, whose geometric models were used for
their fabrication and assembly.

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Inspirations and Limitations in Footbridge Design

In each of the presented cases, the selection of the design concept was influenced by:
adequacy of form symbolism to the era of its creation and the venue of its execution,
complementarity to the existing bridge structures in the surroundings,
maintenance of the engineering standard at the level of the neighbouring objects or higher,
innovativeness of engineering and architectural solutions to in relation to their neighbourhood,
increasing the aesthetic value of the view of the river from the existing bridges.
The point was that the bridge structure had the individual quality and was one of the elements of the urban fabric
associated with human actions and perceptions that affect a given area and the activities there. The issue of creating a
place takes on a new meaning when the second half of the twentieth century revealed a crisis of the modernist concepts
of forming urban fabric for the standard needs of anonymous inhabitants. In the 70s it was already clear that the
existence of the town does not derive only from a functional juxtaposition of its physical attributes. With the right
combination of physical elements with those of mental influence, usually appears what may be called identifying with the
place where we live. This was the case of the examples analyzed here. In particular, pedestrian bridges are of
remarkable importance for the integration of local communities. They also designate contact space and are a special
place that allows optical contact with the urban interior that the river creates with its waterfront buildings, boulevards, or
the recreational green areas, and also allows for a fuller perception of the previously created bridge structures, often
works of engineering art.

Fig. 5 Overal view of footbridge Campo Volantin [5] Fig. 6 Overal view of footbridge Bernatka

The three arched footbridges analyzed here meet all these demands. They are characterized by a strong integration with
the environment, significantly enriching the landscape of the interior of the rivers on which they are erected. Such is the
case of Campo Volantin footbridge in Bilbao (Fig. 5) and Bernatek's footbridge in Cracow (Fig. 6), and especially in the
case of Gateshead Millennium footbridge (Fig. 3). Here, the landscape interior of the River Tyne had already contained
(before the construction of the footbridge) 6 steel bridges, of which at least three belong to the first-class monuments of
bridge construction sites.

Fig. 7 Historical bridges over Tyne river in Newcastle-Gateshead [17], [15] a-b-c.

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These are a beam-arch bridge High Level by Robert Stevenson of 1848 (Fig. 7a), a truss arch bridge Tyne Bridge by
David Anderson of 1928 (Fig. 7b) with then the largest in the United Kingdom span of an arched bridge of 162 m, and a
swing bridge Sweng Bridge by William Armstrong of 1879 (Fig. 7c). The landscape interior formed in Newcastle in the
valley of the River Tyne by these three bridges is one of the most interesting in Europe.
In the three cases of the analyzed footbridges, the conditions for enjoying the surrounding landscape were created,
linking the footbridges with the local communities, for whom they became a great pride as well as landmarks, which the
local communities identify with. In the case of Campo Volantin footbridge, it is one of the most representative structures
of the city, linking the coastal boulevard Campo de Volantin with the Albia Gardens, as well as with the pedestrian
precinct Alamedo de Mazaredo, leading under the la Salve bridge directly to the Guggeheim museum (by Frank O.
Gehry). In the case of Gateshead Millennium footbridge we are dealing with a significant revival of economic life and a
cultural revitalization of the inhabited bank of the River Tyne from the Gateshead side. Today the bridge is an icon of the
north-east England, the reason of great pride of the inhabitants and the source of regional revitalization [7]. On the deck
of the bridge numerous amenities for the users have been made, including, inter alia, benches for those who want to
admire the landscape (Fig. 8b), or gaps in the protective barrier for those wishing to move from the walkway to a bicycle
path or vice versa (Fig. 8a). In the case of Bernatek's footbridge, it links the meritorious, medieval Jewish town of
Kazimierz with the located on the opposite bank of the River Vistula young, because barely over 200 years old, district of
Cracow - Podgrze. This district was located there at the time of Austro-Hungarian Empire, when Cracow was the Free
City. Today the footbridge greatly revived the economic and cultural cooperation between these two administrative units
of Cracow.

Fig.8 Gateshead Millenium bridge, view of curved pedestrian and cycle deck, showing central steel hedge and bench [15] a-b

The changes that have occurred in recent decades show that beauty is an extremely important factor, without which it is
impossible to shape the human environment. Without a doubt, a bridge is an integral part of our environment and
involuntarily becomes subject to aesthetic evaluation. This assessment is becoming one of the most important elements
in the relation between the man and the landscape (natural or urbanized) [1]. Pedestrian bridge design is both an
engineering and architectural task, as well as urban planning. Even more importantly, it is mostly part of the identification
of space, which gives the identity to an urban situation it creates what the study of the psychological effects of space
calls a place. Bridges must be skilfully inscribed in the landscape, because as the elements of infrastructure, are often
elevated above the ground level then they are highly visible and they can add value to this landscape, enrich it or
disfigure it. Therefore they should be a conscious element of landscaping and be friendly to a man. Their complex shape
and geometric form are often associated with that, as well as consequent difficulties in computing and engineering.

4. Technical Efficiency of the Presented Footbridges


Technical efficiency should be understood as the consumption of construction steel and tapered to 1m2 of the deck
usable floor space as well as the cost of the footbridge per 1m2 of usable area of the deck. For the Campo Volantin
footbridge there is no data available.

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For the Gateshead Millennium footbridge the respective numbers are [10], [12]:
Built-in structural steel weight 800 t
Usable floor space of the deck - 832 m2
Steel consumption per 1m2 of the deck - 951 kg
The cost of the footbridge 22 million pounds = 25, 650 million euro
Cost per 1m2 of the deck - 31 thousand euro
For the Bernatek's footbridge we have [10], [15]:
Built-in structural steel weight - 655.5 t
Built-in prestressing steel weight - 27,6 t
Total mass of the built-in steel - 683.1 t
Usable floor space - 900 m2
Steel consumption per 1m2 of the deck - 760 kg
The cost of the footbridge - 38 million zloties = 9, 5 million euro
Cost per 1m2 of the deck - 10.500 euro
From this comparison it is clear that both the cost of 1 m2 of the usable floor space and the consumption of steel per 1m2
of usable area are very high in the analyzed footbridges, far exceeding the appropriate indexes for steel, road or rail
bridges. These indexes are about 400 - 420 kg of steel per 1m2 of the surface of the platform and the cost approximately
of 2.5 - 5 thousand. Euro per 1 m2 of a deck [12].
For the analyzed footbridges these indexes are exceeded by an average of 1.8 - 2.3 times - in terms of steel
consumption, and 2.8 - 8.3 times - when it comes to price. This means that architectural and aesthetic effects in modern
outstanding footbridges cost a lot. They also absorb excessive amounts of material - in this case - the steel.

5. Summary
The paper discusses an important problem of modern bridge engineering and the aesthetics of bridge structures. In
particular, the cases of three modern pedestrian footbridges were considered, which have become the icons of the cities
in which they were erected. The first of these in Bilbao is by an distinguished architect and designing engineer Santiago
Calatrava. The second one - Gateshead Millennium - is an outstanding work of the architect Williamson Eyre and the
British engineers, situated on the River Tyne between Newcastle in north-east England, in a place where we have a
veritable museum of steel bridges. The third one with the largest span of 148.0 meters was built in an important spot on
the River Vistula, linking two traditionally different districts of Cracow - medieval Kazimierz and eighteenth-century
Podgrze.
The three footbridges presented here have significant architectural values and aesthetic appearance. It makes their
location acquire individual characteristics, with a favourable psychological and social impact. These examples show that
especially a pedestrian bridge may be a constitutive element of new cultural values, it may cause that in locations with
no individual characteristics genius loci appears. Transformation of space takes place as well, in this case it is the city
space, which is consistent with the expectations, activities and concepts of local communities, of individual
characteristics, which is beautiful at the same time. This allows to identify a place and confer validity to it in the urban
fabric. Pedestrian bridges are places of great importance due to not only function but also form as an aesthetic category
of broad impact. They are often a pride of local communities. Unfortunately, in the presented examples, their
sophisticated form involved significant costs and large consumption of materials. This means that beauty, expression of
form and expression of structure [11] must cost, even if modern means and computer tools were used for their design
and implementation.

6. References
[1] LEONHARDT FR., The Significance of Aesthetics in Structures. SEI, vol.6, 2/1996, 74-76 pp.
[2] WALTHER R., Engineers, Architects and Bridge Design, SEI. vol. 6, 2/1996, 77-79 pp.
[3] MENN CH., The place of Aesthetics in Bridge Design, SEI, vol. 8, 4/1998, 93-95 pp.
[4] LYN Y. T., Arch as architecture, SEI, vol. 6, 2/1996, 84-87 pp.
[5] JANUSZKIEWICZ K., Santiago Calatrava, Footbridge Campo Volantin in Bilbao (Most dla pieszych w Bilbao),
Archivolta 1/2000, 64-67 pp.

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[6] JOHNSON J., CURRAN P., Bridge an eye-opener for engineering, ICE Civil Engineering 156, February
2003, 16-24 pp.
[7] CURRAN P., Gateshead Millenium Bridge, UK, SEI vol. 13, 4/ 2003, 214-216 pp.
[8] JANUSZKIEWICZ K., The Impact of Digital design Tools on Bridges Aesthetics (Wpyw cyfrowych narzdzi
projektowania na estetyk obiektw mostowych), VII Krajowa Konferencja Estetyka Mostw, Instytut Drg i
Mostw Politechniki Warszawskiej i Zwizek Mostowcw RP, Warszawa- Jachranka, 13-15 kwietnia 2011.
[9] TOWSKI K., ROMASZKIEWICZ T., The footbridge over Vistula river in Cracow. Dynamics features and their
Impact on the final structural form (Kadka przez Wis w Krakowie. Cechy dynamiczne i ich wpyw na ostateczn
form konstrukcyjn obiektu), Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Rzeszowskiej, 276, Budownictwo i Inynieria
rodowiska, 58,1/2011, 449-460 pp.
[10] SIWOWSKI T., TOWSKI K., Architectural and Structural shaping of the Footbridge over Vistula river in
Cracow (Ksztatowanie architektoniczno konstrukcyjne kadki dla pieszych przez Wis w Krakowie), Zeszyty
Naukowe Politechniki Rzeszowskiej, 276, Budownictwo i Inynieria rodowiska 58, 1/2011, 331-340 pp.
[11] FLAGA K., JANUSZKIEWICZ K., A Bridge and Enjoyable Experiences of watching, Expression of Form
Expression of Structure (Most i przyjemno patrzenia. Ekspresja formy ekspresja konstrukcji), VI Krajowa
Konferencja Estetyka Mostw, Instytut Drg i Mostw Politechniki Warszawskiej i Zwizek Mostowcw RP,
Warszawa-Jachranka, 16-18 kwietnia, 2008, 53-60 pp.
[12] SCHLAICH M., Planning conditions for footbridges. The proceedings of footbridge 2002, The First International
Conference on Design and Dynamic Behavior of Footbridges, Paris, November 2002, 40-52 pp.
[13] RELPH E., Place and placelessnes, London, 1976.
[15] FLAGA K., own collections.
[16] JANUSZKIEWICZ K., own collections.
[17] WIKIPEDIA Commons.
[18] http://wwwidacdonikad2.blox.pl/2010/11/kladka-Bernatka (28.03. 2011).
[19] MEHRKAR-ASISh.,Case Study: Gateshead Millennium Bridge,
http://www.lusas.com/case/bridge/gateshead.html (25.04.2010).

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