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Project: Clifton Hill Rail Bridge
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Location: Clifton Hill
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Client: Department of Infrastructure
Project Description
Supporting a railway track duplication between Clifton Hill and Westgarth stations this new bridge spanning the Merri Creek incorporates structural elements designed to acknowledge the existing 1890s bridge’s articulation and proportions. It matches the cross-sectional profile of the existing bridge and accommodates the deeper super-structure necessary to cater for the longer span and contemporary codes.
The main steel supporting beam is painted yellow and has a pattern of holes that give its flange much greater ‘transparency’ while also introducing playfulness and decoration to a functional structural element. A scatter of stainless steel discs continue this theme by reversing the negative space of the flange holes into positive brightly polished forms contrasting with the brick skin.
The new structural concrete piers are clad in brickwork and mimic the adjacent original bridge supports. A further layering of integrated art incorporates the local Wurundjeri language of Woiwurrung. Using a stencil cut-out form to reveal the brick underneath, this pier has a Wurundjeri ‘Welcome to Country’, with an English translation alongside, giving a linguistic hierarchy to the story telling.