East London’s Victorian dock on the River Lea is being revived for pedestrians with the installation of the Cody Dock Rolling Bridge, designed by British designer Thomas Randall-Page. The bridge has been built over 7 years. It is made from weathering steel and oak that rotates via manual levers to allow boats to pass. It is the first bridge of its kind to rotate on its axis via manual levers.
Inspired by Victorian industrial design, the bridge has a square profile and is balanced by a system of counterweights and gravity, similar to canal locks and drawbridges. The bridge’s edges are wrapped in steel gear teeth that rest on a track embedded into the channel’s side. A series of cables wrapped around the edges of the bridge and attached to winches at either side allow it to move 180 degrees.
Manual Control
Randall-Page’s design ensures the bridge requires no power to run and can be easily repaired without complex sensors or cut-offs. The bridge’s balance is achieved by scrap steel and concrete ballast hidden inside the hoops that frame it. It weighs 13 tonnes, and the centre of gravity moves horizontally as it is operated. The designer said that he expects the bridge to be put to functional use as the dock is reflooded.
Randall-Page explained that his fascination with movement and transformation this can bring to projects led him to develop the concept specifically for this project and its particular context. The bridge currently crosses over a dead-end channel, but it will be used for permanent moorings and eventually will host a large dry dock for repairs and maintenance of barges.
Revitalising the Dock
The dock was originally completed in 1871 by the Imperial Chemical Company, and in 2009, Gasworks Dock Partnership was created to regenerate the site. The dock is now home to a number of galleries, cafes and other amenities. The Cody Dock Rolling Bridge is a unique addition to the site, and alongside other uniquely designed footbridges such as Sam Crawford Architects’ eel-shaped bridge in Sydney and a bridge in the Netherlands created from flax, it adds to the area’s charm and character.
Overall, the Cody Dock Rolling Bridge – its manual control system and its design – is a unique addition and fits seamlessly to the revitalised Victorian dock in East London.
