The brief required bridge designs to be experienced from a distance and up close, to make a significant statement within the public realm, to generate confidence within the area, to be usable by all, and to perform an important function in the creation of a riverside walk.

During our visit to Rochester we walked around the historic town and along the waterfront through the Acorn Shipyard and were stuck by the dynamic and evolutionary nature of both the urban fabric and the natural environment - tides move in and out, wind blows, water flows, plants grow and die, people come and go, businesses grow and decline. We realised that a bridge in this location is actually an alien presence, still, cold and static. We decided that our footbridge would be less alien - a bridge that participated actively in its environment not one that stood aloof.

We were inspired by the sound of the place - the wind blowing around the old buildings, the excavators in the distance, the clank of a hammer on the hull, the waves lapping against the river wall which reminded us of old ships, creaking gently with the movement of the waves as the structure strains and relaxes. This started a train of thought in our minds - what if we were to let the bridge speak for itself? What if we were to use tubular elements and leave them open at one end with the wind blowing past, wouldn’t that be like blowing over the mouth of a milk bottle. What if the tide rising were to fill the tubes and change the note? And could we create of the tidal creeks amphitheatres to focus and amplify the sound? We explored the physics of sound and wind and structural interactions, and somewhat to our surprise we find that we can, in a low tech, flexible and economic way, produce the sort of outcome that we fondly imagine. We propose to design an elegant economical and practical bridge but one where the structure is allowed and encouraged to produce sound by its interaction with the wind and the water and the people using it. Iconic like a steam train, or a sailing ship not just for the look of it but for the way it talks to you.