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The Big Picture: a London footbridge that fans open for boats
What you see above is a bridge of a slightly different flavor. Taking inspiration from Japanese hand-fan design, the Merchant Square Bridge uses a cantilvered deck to cross the Grand Union Canal in Paddington, London. Each of the five steel beams open in sequence and use what designer Knight Architects calls shaped counterweights to assist the hydraulic jacks that raise and lower the planks. Just how much weight is needed to aid the spans? Architecture & Design says 40 tons worth -- about the heft of an average humpback whale. The design of the bridge allows boats to pass under freely, and pedestrians to cross the 20 meter-wide (roughly 65 feet) body of water. To see it in action (and in the down position), check out the video we've embedded below if you can't make it to London to peep in person.
