Footbridge Design – Reflecting on objectives

Bridge design is a complex process, where many issues have to be considered, especially in the case of footbridges where design freedom is restricted by fewer functional and structural demands.

Everybody involved in bridge design is familiar with the iterations, struggles, doubts and moving back and forth. But would it be possible to ease this process and to create a common detailed guideline for the design of footbridges? Since every design task is individual and uniquely distinguished, this seems hardly possible.

What does seem possible, however, is to track the design process by interrogating and reflecting on certain design objectives. This paper identifies some of these objectives and investigates how they may be considered in footbridge design.