CHAPTER SEVEN
Grand Ah-Whooms
How Ten Brits Made the Millennium Bridge Wobble
ON A SUNNY DAY IN 2000, the Queen of England dedicated the Millennium Bridge to the sounds of fanfare. London’s first new bridge over the river Thames since 1894, it connects the City and St. Paul’s Cathedral on the north with the Tate and the Globe Theatre on the south. Selected from over two hundred entries in a global contest, the winning design was fresh and contemporary and pushed the boundaries of art, architecture, and engineering. The bridge’s architect, Norman Foster, envisioned pedestrians enjoying the thrill of “walking on water in a blade of light.”1
Foster collaborated on the project with Arup, an engineering firm, and Anthony Caro, a sculptor. They sought ...
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