Engineering Landmarks in London

Waterloo Station to Institution of Civil Engineers

Dr Tristan RobinsonCE Course Director

Key sites

• Shell Building• London Eye• Waterloo Bridge• Hungerford Bridge• Victoria Embankment• Westminster Bridge• Institution of Civil Engineers

Site 1: Shell Building

• Built in the 1960s the Shell Building is an early example of a steel framed high rise building, with internal wind bracing, in the UK

Continue walking across the lawn towards the river. Look at the London Eye from a distance, particularly the structural elements which stop the Eye from falling over.

Site 2: London Eye

• Built to celebrate the new Millennium, the London Eye was initially intended to be a temporary attraction but has become a significant feature of the built environment of London.

Walk across the lawn to the river and then head east. The first bridge to the east of the London Eye is Hungerford Bridge. Continue heading downstream, walk under Hungerford Bridge, until you can get to the Waterloo Bridge.

Activity: Notice the very large compression members and several thin tension members holding the wheel up. Sketch the supporting structure of the Eye.

Site 3: Waterloo Bridge

• Completed in 1943 Waterloo Bridge is a reinforced concrete bridge.

• The piers are of hollow construction with narrow transverse walls to carry the superstructure.

• These consists of reinforced concrete boxed girders linked by a central strip of decking.

Site 3: Waterloo Bridge

• The beams are faced with Portland stone cladding, giving the impression of a shallow arched construction, even though it is actually a beam bridge.

Activity: Turn away from the river and notice the concrete buildings which are part of the South Bank arts precinct. What is the state of the concrete?

Site 3: Waterloo Bridge

Activity: Turn away from the river and notice the concrete buildings which are part of the South Bank arts precinct. Describe the visual state of the concrete.

Activity: Can you see any attempts to restore the buildings or to ameliorate the impacts of concrete deterioration? How successful do you think they are?

Walk back upstream to the Hungerford Bridge.

Site 4: Hungerford Bridge

• The Charing Cross Rail Bridge was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw and opened in 1864.

• In addition to the two red brick bases and abutments remaining from Brunel’s bridge, further piers are formed of cast iron cylinders filled with concrete..

Site 4: Hungerford Bridge

• The seven span multi-cable stayed structure of the Hungerford Millennium footbridges are the latest addition to this site.

• Extensive testing was conducted to ensure that the bridges would not ‘wobble’ due to the problems with the Bankside Millennium Footbridge

Site 4: Hungerford Bridge

Activity: Looking at the foundations of the bridge notice how the new foundations are integrated with the older foundations. Sketch the structure.

Activity: How is the load transferred from the deck of the footbridge to the foundations?

Cross over the Hungerford Bridge and descend to the northern bank of the Thames, to the Victoria Embankment

Site 5: Victoria Embankment

• The Victoria Embankment was constructed in the 1860s as part of the intercepting sewers project undertaken by the Metropolitan Board of Works

Walk upstream along the Embankment until you reach Westminster Bridge.

• The work was led by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, and the incepting sewers project is

one of the most important

public engineering works

ever undertaken in London.

Site 6: Westminster Bridge

• Westminster Bridge is highly significant as the site of the second bridge to be constructed across the Thames in London after ‘Old London Bridge’, which was built in 1209.

Activity: Look down to river itself. If you are visiting at low tide you will notice the mudflats which are characteristic of the Thames. What is your impression of the state of health of the River Thames? What do you think are likely to be the main sources of pollution in the Thames today?

Site 7: Institution of Civil Engineers

• The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) was founded in 1818. It received its Royal Charter in 1828, providing it with the status of leading and representing the civil engineering profession in the United Kingdom.

• The ICE has been housed at one Great George Street since 1894.

• The ICE is a useful source of information for engineers and students.

References

• Halliday, S. (1999) The Great Stink of London Sutton Publishing, Gloucestershire.

• Beckett, D. (2005) London (Thames Bridges) & Ponts de Paris, unpublished manuscript, available from Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCL, London.

• Smith, D (ed) (2001) Civil Engineering Heritage: London and the Thames Valley Thomas Telford Ltd, London.