Kurilpa Bridge

I admit that I wasn’t a fan when the Kurilpa Bridge first opened, I looked to me like someone had thrown down a pile of pick-​up sticks and tried to fashion them into a bridge. Having traversed it at least twice a day in the last year I am a convert — I have come to admire it and even see it as a thing of beauty.
There are plenty of viewing platforms spaced along the bridge with seating, bins and water fountains. It makes a great place to eat your lunch, have that mid-​morning coffee or meet your lover for a sneaky kiss and a cuddle.

I love The Kurilpa Bridge, yes it looks like somebody has thrown a lot of scrap metal together but in its own way it’s beautiful. The bridge makes it a nice leisurely walk from the city to the cultural precinct at South Bank. At night they light the bridge up in all different colours and it just looks magical. If you have kids make sure they know that it is also used for cyclists.

Four reviews and Four different ratings is a good indication of the way in which the Kurilpa Bridge divides opinion. I happen to be a massive fan of this bridge and think it’s the best architectural feat to hit the Brisbane landscape since the Skyneedle. I was not always so enamored with this structure, however. Passing by the bridge during its construction the mix of random brown poles and misplaced cables led me to believe the project was going to be an unprecedented disaster, given the price tag. It is always wise to wait for a finished product before passing judgement and somehow they pulled it off.
Apparently the surplus of oddly angled poles that make it look as if there was a boating pile up on the river are meant to symbolise the first fleet. And on a grand scale the idea of a bridge with a traditional aboriginal name designed to represent the first fleet is an interesting and thoughtful choice in and of itself.

The Kurilpa Bridge looks like someone’s planted a large, masted ship on a bridge and magically removed everything of the ship except the masts. The masts are connected in an overhead web by wires which remind me of the overhanging tram lines in Melbourne. The masts also seem to be tilted at strange angles, as though the imaginary ship has been frozen whilst tipping over.
Some people say, «I don’t much about art, but I know what I like.» I’m more of the school who believe «I don’t know much about art, and when confronted by modern art I don’t know what I’m supposed to think and slowly back away before my opinion is asked.» I mean, we all have our limits (I refuse to accept that a painting of a purple triangle on a plain white background constitutes art), but I’m a bit stuck here in deciding whether the bridge is cool or ugly.
A few facts: Kurilpa is the Aboriginal word for the South Brisbane and West End area and means «place for water rats»; the bridge won the 2011 World Transport Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival; Kurilpa Bridge is the world’s largest tensegrity bridge (a structural principle based on using isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, but we all knew that already); and the bridge’s lighting is LED, with 75%-100% of the power being provided by solar energy.

Woah woah woah! I was coming here to write a big ‘hooray Kurilpa bridge, you’re so rad, such a great sign of Brisbane’s burgeoning cultural maturity blah blah’ review — until I read Shele P’s little snippet about building cost. 63.3 MILLION DOLLARS! This is the reason for my 2 star review. I’ve experienced better foot bridges that have cost a fraction of the price.
I like it, it’s cool, I’m a serious fan of modern and architectural art, but man our city needs that money spent in other areas. I’m pretty sure the transient camps of homeless people who often end up under Kurilpa Bridge would probably prefer a more standard pedestrian bridge and a safe place to sleep at night. Good lord.

I think this is the kind of bridge Spiderman would build if he was an architect. With random beans held by countless cables jutting off into every direction possible it looks a little messy to me. At night it will be lit by any range of colours and this changes often but even this just accentuates the odd design.
Even so, the Kurilpa Bridge is so convenient and one of the nicer ways to go from the city to GOMA and the State Library. I can see this bridge being great for tourists and locals alike. It is a pedestrian and cyclist bridge only which means you don’t get the awful traffic noise and bus fumes like on other nearby bridges. The walkway is covered and on one day when the rain was pissing down this did help a little. Sideways rain is always problematic but I did not get nearly as wet as I had imagined crossing Kurilpa. On a sunny day, it is a pleasure to cross and I am surprised that it does not get even more foot traffic. From the city end it is nice and close to Roma Street and only a short walk to the city centre, and on the Southbank side conveniently located next to GOMA. A fairly new addition to Brisbane, I recommend you walk its path at least once in the near future.

Brisbane is a city of bridges. Kurilpa Bridge is one of the more recent bridges to be built in the city, and it’s definitely the most eye catching. You could ask 100 people what they thought the bridge reminded them of and they would probably all have a different answer. It reminds me of bike wheel spokes. The bridge was built by Baulderstone Queensland (for a sweet $ 63.3 million) and is internationally recognised as a feat in design and engineering (the web link provides some technical information about its design). It’s a foot and bike bridge that connects Tank Street (city side) to GOMA (South Brisbane side).
If you’re a cyclist, it’s super fun to come from the Tank Street entrance and spend most of the journey speeding down towards GOMA. Do watch yourself coming towards the end of it though, the bridge spirals in under itself before it lets you off at GOMA. The speed limit for bikes is 10 km and for good reason. Have fun, but not too much fun– you can and will axe yourself. I have done so. You will have a leisurely upward climb if you’re coming from GOMA, but it’s a lovely and short walk to get into the city.
At night, the Kurilpa Bridge is often ablaze with lights. Sometimes you’ll see a red bridge, other times it will be purple, blue, or green. It is an everchanging sight to behold. In some ways, you’re best walking across the Victoria Bridge (running from the Cultural Centre) so you can marvel at it from a distance.
The jury is still out on this one. Some people think the bridge is amazing, others think it’s an eye sore. Either way, it represents another step the Queensland Government has taken to make Brisbane an easier city to navigate by foot. It’s also helped put Brisbane on the map as far architecture and design goes. If people travel to San Fran for The Golden Gate Bridge, and to Bilbao for the Guggenheim, well, surely it’s not unreasonable to think someone, SOMEONE would come to Brisbane for the Kurilpa Bridge and GOMA. Right?