Kurilpa Bridge, Brisbane, Australia' - Sustainable Engineering.
The world’s largest structure to be based upon the principles of ‘tensegrity’, the term coined by Richard Buckminster Fuller to describe a system of balanced compressive and tensile forces. It is also the world’s largest solar powered footbridge, with all the LED lighting powered by the solar power collected during the day.
The bridge is relatively light, but has a comparatively long main span and a complex array of masts and cables. All this plus its unique design meant that it could be subject to unusual dynamic or aerodynamic effects with no precedents or “rules-of-thumb” upon which to draw. As a result, extensive wind tunnel, dynamic and fatigue analyses were required to comprehensively investigate and resolve all potential dynamic phenomena.
