Kingsgate Bridge

Kingsgate Bridge
Kingsgate Bridge seen from Durham Students Union, the Cathedral above.
Crosses	River Wear
Locale	Durham, England
Heritage status	Grade I listed
History
Designer	Sir Ove Arup
Engineering design by	Ove Arup & Partners
Construction end	1966

Coordinates: 54°46′23″N 1°34′21″W / 54.77306°N 1.57250°W / 54.77306; -1.57250

Kingsgate Bridge is a striking, modern reinforced concrete construction footbridge across the River Wear, in Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. It was personally designed in 1963 by Sir Ove Arup, connecting Bow Lane on the historic peninsula in the centre of Durham to Dunelm House on New Elvet (to which building Arup's studio also contributed), and opened in 1966. Kingsgate Bridge is thought to have been one of Arup's favourite designs of all, he having spent many hours working on every detail of the plans.

Its construction was unusual. The two halves were each built parallel to the river, then rotated through 90° to make the crossing. The meeting point of the two halves is marked by a simple bronze expansion joint.

In 1965, the bridge was the winner of the Civic Trust Award.

In 1993, it won Certificate of Outstanding Performance (Mature Structures Category) of the Concrete Society.

A bust of Arup, cast in resin, was installed on the side of Dunelm House, the students' union building adjacent to the bridge, in September 2011. The sculpture is a copy of a 1987 bust by Diana Brandenburger, held by the National Portrait Gallery. It is a replacement for a previous copy of the same bust, in bronze, which was unveiled by Karin Perry, Arup's daughter, on 16 April 2003, the 108th anniversary of Arup's birth, but which was stolen from its plinth during the summer of 2006.