The Design Museum recently shortlisted a collection of diverse London based designs for inclusion in a new book. Museum director Deyan Sidjuc focused on iconic images and architectural structures that perfectly define London’s traditional and contemporary landscape. Included in the list was Tower Bridge. Constructed over an 8 year period between 1886 and 1894, this is a tangible representation of London in the late 19th century and represents the way architecture reflects its surroundings.

When the structure was built, the Thames was filled with shipping from around the globe and the population of the city had literally doubled over four decades. Originally painted a greenish-blue colour, the bridge was repainted red, white and blue for the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth ll in 1977 and retains the same colour scheme today.

London had been in need of a new crossing to link the north and south banks closer to the Tower for many years, but the project faced the difficulty of threading the bridge through one of the busiest ports in the world without disturbing the shipping. A bridge that could be opened and closed with the use of hydraulic power appeared to be the most practical solution, but the Thames Conservatory were insistent that the bridge be opened for two hours each day which created the need for a pedestrian walkway. The Crown also insisted the Bridge accurately reflect the architecture of the Tower of London which explains the remarkable silhouette we see today.

The steel hydraulic systems inside the bridge are capable of opening the bridge in under five minutes which rendered a high-level walkway redundant. The wharves upstream of the bridge have also gone, and what remains is a striking monument to the London that once was and an internationally recognisable symbol of the city that stands today.

Architecture is the design and creation of structures and buildings that embody their surroundings and facilitate the way people function within them. The visionary construction of the Tower Bridge is representative of our approach to architecture and our fundamental belief that it can significantly impact our locations and the way we live. We take on residential, public and commercial architecture on a domestic and global basis and work to find the comprehensive solutions to every design challenge.