The Leah & Desmond Tutu Bridge was a project that involved the creation of a vital urban feature that would service Roedean School and St John’s College well into the future. This connector not only merged the two divided schools but also restructured student/parent pick-up areas. In doing so, the traffic congestion was alleviated and the accessibility of both schools has been greatly improved.

Structural Steel

The design concept initially related to a lightweight structure that hovers in a state of tension. This new link is a spine that joins the two institutions. From this spine, the fins rise along the arc and down the whole bridge’s length forming the side supports. The scheme is once again tied together through the tension cables that are linked back to the pylon and into the ground.

The aesthetic was a critical aspect of the design process that drove the whole design.

The aspect of aesthetics was directly related to the structural idea that links form to a function. At each stage, each component was designed to reflect its function in pure honest design. The design was born out a series of ink line paintings done by the architect which were used to capture the fluidity of the form. Once the concept of a straining mast taking the load with an arcing walkway was accepted the bridge took on a more refining design process.

Other aesthetic design contributors were the streamlined arc, the pylon, and the side fin supports with their repeated modules strung together into an elegant structure.

Once these forms were refined further aspects were designed as colour scheme (two-tone scheme), structural connections (simplicity), and construction erection (ease of erection while keeping in with the design themes).

All the above points were strongly endorsed by SAHRA (SA Heritage Resources Agency), as the bridge falls within the boundaries of “The Wilds”, a National Heritage whose main concerns were the bridges aesthetic compliance.

Special Features

The design process was defined by the aspects site constraints. The site constraints restricted the design to a single mast, carrying the tension bridge. This set up the premise for what was to be designed.

Both the design team (engineers and architect) and the contractor (fabricators) had to include method of erection within the design process. As during the erection of the bridge Houghton drive could not close on week days. Due to these constraints the bridge was prefabricated off site and placed together over the Easter weekend 2003.

The bridge was dedicated to Leah and Desmond Tutu at a ceremony in October 2003.