This month marks 25 years since the completion of the Corporation Street Bridge, a project born from devastation, designed as a symbol of resilience.
After the 1996 Manchester bombing, the shattered bridge between two key shopping centres became an enduring image of loss. In 1997, we were delighted to win the competition to reimagine it.
Set within the urban canyon of Corporation Street, the new bridge appears as a lightweight glazed membrane, a hyperbolic paraboloid stretched across the street, open and transparent, allowing uninterrupted views and flow beneath.
Eighteen tension rods and spiralling compression members give the bridge its unique structural rhythm, while conical collars anchor it to the city , both literally and symbolically.
It went on to receive five major awards, including the RIBA Awards and the American Institute of Architecture Awards
A quarter-century on, it remains a proud marker of design-led regeneration