Bridge at Dights Falls

By Jack Trentepohl and Drew Muscat: "the bridgemaxxers"
University of Melbourne

Situated on the outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD, Dights Falls is an important site for the city’s short- and long-term history.

For local Indigenous cultures, it was a place for gathering, feeding, and connecting between groups.

More recently, it played a role in powering the factories of the surrounding area.

Today, however, the site remains underutilised by the local community, functioning primarily as a lookout and fish breeding area on the southwest side, and as a short walking trail on the north-east side. For many people travelling along the river, access to the northern trail and a closer experience of the falls remains limited. Our proposal seeks to connect these fragmented areas, improving accessibility and creating a more cohesive experience of the site.

The bridge’s structure was inspired by the extreme flooding which occurs in the region. For this reason optimisation was situated around simulating a flood event and producing a structure which could withstand the extreme pressure of these events.

Sitting above the structure, the walkway sweeps lightly from the existing plinth toward the lower entry point. With re-used timber sleepers sitting between a lightweight steel profile, the bridge merges both structural efficiency with user experience, responding sensibly to the sites history and current uses.

A pedestrian bridge connecting picnic areas at Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens.

Team Members: Tom Maynard and Paras Notaras
The University of Melbourne

The submission details the design, structural analysis, and optimization of Lakeview Passage, a pedestrian bridge connecting picnic areas at Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens.

Design Concept

• The bridge links two picnic peninsulas, offering new water views and easier park traversal.
• Uses lightweight steel, timber, and corten steel to blend with the garden’s atmospheric qualities.
• Designed for minimal presence, visibility through the structure, and boat passage underneath.

Design Process

• Employed Grasshopper and Rhinoceros 8 for parametric modeling and customization.
• Parameters include length, width, railing height, and foundation size.
• Geometry was divided, mirrored, and supported with vertical and diagonal bracing.
• Supports, footpath surface, and end panels were created through curve division and lofting.

Structural Analysis & Optimization

• Used Karamba3D and Galapagos to analyze and optimize for minimal displacement.
• Findings indicated higher truss counts reduce deflection; a 7cm x 15cm cross-section was optimal.
• The final design closely follows a catenary curve for structural efficiency and usability.
• Material choices include Corten steel for framing, glulam timber for decking, and concrete for foundations.

Final Details

• Structural components include steel RHS profiles, timber planks, and stainless steel handrails.
• The model was physically represented with wire and cardboard for visualization.
• Drawings and detailed sections support construction and further analysis.
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Botanical Gardens Crossing

FLUID TIED-ARCH EXOSKELETON BRIDGE

Team Members Juan Gie & Qingbo Sun
RMIT University

Although situated within the Royal Botanic Gardens, the two sides of the lake possess distinctly different spatial characters.

The western shoreline is connected to areas of higher visitor activity, cafés, and public gathering spaces, creating a lively and social atmosphere. The opposite shoreline is more immersed in vegetation and natural landscapes, offering a quieter and more reflective experience.

This contrast became the primary reason for selecting the site. Rather than simply providing a crossing, the proposed bridge mediates between these two environments, creating a gradual transition from the energetic public realm to the calm natural landscape.

Design Concept

Where two shorelines meet across one lake, each carrying a completely different spatial character, the bridge becomes the moment of transition between them.

The design takes its logic from the site itself. The branching of the garden’s trees, the asymmetry of the two edges, the fluid quality of a landscape that rewards patience over pace. These are not references applied to the form. They are the structural and spatial decisions the project kept returning to throughout its development.

The crossing is designed as a journey rather than a path. The frame creates enclosure without closing you in, moving between compression and openness as you cross. The gardens are never given all at once. The bridge positions you, orients you, and points you toward what comes next.

The Split Ribbon

Team: Terence Jiayang Wang and Frank Xincheng Wang
The University of Melbourne

The Split Ribbon is designed as a lightweight bridge. It is formed by a continuous surface that gently split into two branches in the middle.

The “Split” highlighted the pedastrians’ movement while maintaining the overall form simple. The supporting branch of the bridge acts as a turning point in the structure, emphasising the continuity and separation.

Although the two ramps go in different directions, they still feel connected as part of one.

As it is located in Phillips Reserve, the design takes a humble attitude. It avoids heavy volume and excessive decorations, aiming to intervene in the site as lightly as possible and giving the attention back to the surrounding tranqil context.

Alma Park - Folded Bridge

Team "Dominamy": Dominique Romero and Amy Tan
The University of Melbourne

Located within Alma Park, the bridge connects the western and eastern sides of the park across the railway corridor below. The design is inspired by cable suspension systems, where the bridge deck appears to float and is supported by a series of tension cables connected to the structural fins of the bridge.

The lightweight stainless steel structure takes inspiration from tensile architecture, expressed through its folded and fluid form. This sculptural geometry enhances the sense of lightness while creating an elegant and dynamic connection between both sides of the park.

This design utilizes computational optimization and structural analysis to enhance the overall form, dimensions and structural system. In this project particular, a lot focused on the cables that lift the deck up and the structural fins on which the cabels are attached to.

A Wildlife Sound Wave Bridge

Team name: Timbre - RMIT University
Members: Huichun Zhao & Yingyi Tian

Located in Sundown National Park, Queensland, this project proposes a wildlife crossing bridge generated from the sound waves of animals.

The site is understood as a rugged ecological landscape of gorges, rocky ridges, dry woodland, waterholes and the Severn River system. Within this environment, animal calls, bird songs and movement patterns become important but invisible forms of ecological information.

The bridge translates these invisible sound waves into a woven timber structure. Its curved profile, rhythmic timber members and continuous arch are shaped by the rise and fall of acoustic patterns found within the national park. Inspired by reciprocal frame systems and Da Vinci bridge construction, the structure is formed through interlocking timber elements that support one another through balance, compression and repetition.

Rather than acting only as a pedestrian bridge, the project becomes a shared ecological corridor. It allows visitors to move slowly through the landscape while also supporting wildlife movement across the terrain.

The bridge does not dominate Sundown National Park; instead, it responds to the site’s ecological sensitivity by creating a lightweight structure that listens to, records and spatialises the presence of non-human life. Through this approach, the bridge becomes both infrastructure and ecological narrative. It connects humans, animals, sound and landscape, transforming the act of crossing into an experience of listening.

Inspired by the rhythm of rowing, boat ribs and water movement

Team Members: Lan Lyu and Yang Hu
The University of Melbourne

Inspired by the nearby boathouse and rowing culture, the bridge translates the rhythm of oars and water movement into a lightweight structural spine.

The form celebrates the site’s sporting identity while creating a new pedestrian landmark. Located near Wesley College Boathouse, Herring Island and the Yarra River Reserve, the bridge is conceived as a lightweight structure that reconnects fragmented landscapes along the river.

Inspired by the rhythm of rowing, boat ribs and water movement, the bridge transforms structural elements into an architectural experience. It is not only a crossing, but also a viewing platform, a shaded river walkway and a new public landmark that strengthens the relationship between people, movement and water.

Punting on the Lake Inspires Concept for the LTM Footbridge

Team LTM Members: Laurie Liu, Xingyu Wang and Tony Nguyen
The University of Melbourne

The bridge draws inspiration from the punt boats operating on the ornamental lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.

Their journey offers views toward the gardens and Melbourne’s city skyline. The experience is designed as a calm tour, sharing the history, wildlife, and planting of the gardens. Spanning the same lake, the bridge creates a framed moment for the boats to pass beneath during their guided tours.

The form of the bridge references the ribbed timber construction of the punts, expressed through a series of catenary arches and a continuous curved profile in both plan and elevation. These gestures create a lightweight, ribbed structure that reflects the character and craftsmanship of the boats: which is the highlight activity at the lake.

Riverscape Link - a quiet infrastructural gesture that reconnects people with the river landscape

Team Members: Nadira and Teo Ming Zhe
The University of Melbourne

Riverscape Link is conceived as a quiet infrastructural gesture that reconnects people with the river landscape through movement, pause, and immersion. Rather than functioning as a conventional bridge that simply crosses water, the proposal creates an experiential pathway that gradually unfolds the relationship between visitor, river, and surrounding ecology.

The design emerged from an interest in framing the journey itself. The bridge surface extends continuously toward the opposite riverbank, creating a strong visual connection that reinforces the feeling of arrival and continuity. By maintaining an uninterrupted deck plane, the user experiences the bridge as a seamless extension of the landscape rather than an isolated object placed above water. A central opening within the bridge introduces a secondary spatial experience, a recessed stair descending toward the river surface.

This intervention transforms the bridge from a purely linear crossing into a layered public space. The lowered platform allows visitors to engage more intimately with the water level, creating moments of pause, reflection, and sensory connection to the river environment. The formal language of the structure is intentionally restrained and monochromatic. Minimal material articulation and soft shadow definition emphasize geometry, proportion, and spatial atmosphere instead of decorative expression. Railings and edges are designed to appear lightweight and continuous, allowing the surrounding landscape to remain visually dominant.

The subdued visual treatment also supports the conceptual intention of producing a representation that feels architectural and atmospheric rather than hyper-realistic.

Birrarung Thread A Data-Driven Pedestrian Crossing

Team Name: Node & Vector - RMIT University
Members Xinpei Liu and Ryan Justice

The selected site occupies a strategic position between Burnley and South Yarra, where major transport infrastructure intersects with the ecological corridor of the Yarra River. While CityLink and the Burnley Depot establish strong east–west movement networks, they also create physical and visual barriers that limit pedestrian connectivity to the river edge.

The site is uniquely positioned to bridge these conditions, linking urban circulation, public open space, and river ecology. Environmental factors including prevailing south-westerly winds, solar orientation, and existing vegetation inform the proposal, while the river itself provides opportunities for recreation, habitat restoration, and public engagement. The analysis identifies the site as a point of convergence where infrastructure, landscape, and urban movement can be integrated into a continuous and accessible public realm.

Topology optimisation was employed to explore efficient material distribution within the bridge structure. Varying volume constraints generated distinct structural networks, revealing how load paths, continuity, and material efficiency influence the resulting form. These outcomes informed the development of the final architectural and structural proposal.

The Y Bridge - Yarra Link Collective

Boya Liang and Lingdejun Chen
The University of Melbourne

At the seam of Abbotsford and Kew, the Y Bridge hovers over Merri Creek, echoing the sweep of the freeway above.

A feather-light link between Yarra Bend trails, it frames the park's picturesque bend as a graceful threshold.

The 40-metre span responds directly to the site: the creek width and the alignment of existing trails on both banks fix the bridge's endpoints, while the curving deck—itself acting as a secondary arch—extends the path beyond a straight crossing.

Four metres wide, it is held aloft by cables drawn taut from a single commanding arch above.