The design is a joint project between three companies: architects Michael Hopkins and Partners, expert bridge building engineers Flint and & Neill Partnership and the local Jersey firm Geo-Engineering Consulting Services.

Styligh and Elegant

Islanders who selected it as their favourite design described it as ‘stylish’ and ‘elegant’, ‘a modern gateway which is beautiful and practical’.

The aim of the footbridge is to improve access from the end of Castle Street in St Helier to the future centre of the new Waterfront complex, as well as Les Jardins de la Mer. It will also create an imaginative icon building. Once the complex is complete the bridge could lead people right to its heart, which will be a new landscaped park area to the west of the cinema.

Mike Taylor said: “We are absolutely delighted to be selected as winners of the competition and believe this design can really transform the Waterfront area.

“It is probably difficult for the public to currently imagine the full significance of the footbridge because of the state of the car park and work being carried out to the waterfront site, but when the area at either end is developed (creating a large public park towards the sea and a vital new part of the town along the Esplanade) then the importance of the bridge, as part of the new public route, will become obvious.

Similar Challenges

"We have worked on similar architectural challenges to the one posed by the St Helier waterfront, where a road effectively cuts off the town's access to the water, and in fact we are currently designing a new marina for Brighton and overseeing the redevelopment of the Hull Dock area.

“Although the circumstances and designs vary between the different places the basic problem is similar: the old connections need to be re-established in new ways to breathe new life into the area"

Michael Hopkins and Partners were invited by Flint & Neill to join them especially for the Jersey Waterfront Bridge Competition.

Mike Taylor and Ian Firth, a partner at Flint & Neill, showed off the winning design to hundreds of Islanders during a two-day exhibition at the Pomme d’Or Hotel in November. The idea was to give members of the public a chance to see the plans and question the six teams which had been short listed to take part in the competition.

Public enthusiasm

“What was particularly interesting were the dozens of people who came to look at the model of the bridge and ended up being equally enthusiastic about our plans for the public areas in the waterfront project”, said Mike Taylor.

“What they seemed to understand was they were not being asked to consider the bridge in the short term but how important it could be ten years from now.

“With plans to include a major public park surrounded by a winter garden, art gallery, hotel and hundreds of flats the Waterfront project will become a vibrant, buzzing community – how people get there is an important consideration”.

Setup in 1976

Set up in 1976, Michael Hopkins and Partners is an internationally renowned firm of architects and urban designers with a string of award winning projects to their name. The company is known for its cutting-edge approach to design pioneering ventures like fabric roofs and energy efficient designs. The company is run by Sir Michael Hopkins, who was knighted in 1995 for his services to architecture.

“My goal as an architect is to design innovative, beautiful buildings that enhance their setting”, said Mike Taylor.

“The practice has won its reputation through designing buildings with elegant modern structures that appeal to the public because they also fit in with their surroundings”.