Thiruvalluvar

The Thiruvalluvar and Vivekananda bridges are a five hundred metre long series of pedestrian bridges located at the southern most tip of India. They are designed to connect the mainland of India to the Thiruvalluvar Statue and Vivekananda Temple - allowing pilgrims to visit both islands currently served by boats. The area was heavily damaged in the 2004 Asian tsunami and so the Indian lotus was employed as a symbol of renewal and its morphology used in the form of the bridge. The sweep of the bridge from the mainland to the two islands was curved to allow for views of the statue and temple along the bridge - a straight bridge would not allow this. The scheme employs two formal components. The first is a highly sculpted and modular concrete deck that appears to visually float above the water, touching down only lightly at twenty metre spans. The second is a language of concrete leaves - or petals - to provide shading along the route. These are modulated with the deck to create a rhythmic and sculptural quality to the bridge. The bridges are highly modular and efficient. The four hundred metre Thiruvalluvar bridge is formed from twenty concave spans. The one hundred metre Vivekananda bridge is formed from five convex spans. The deck was designed with a nominal six metres width to allow for the anticipated volume of pilgrims. The height of the petals was seven metres at its apex and curving around the deck to structurally connect to the deck column. It was important that the form of the bridges did not compete with either the Thiruvalluvar statue or Vivekananda temple and the material would resonate. The material of the bridge is a weathered concrete, with a stratified or sedimentary layered effect to create a sense of timelessness. At dusk the petals are lit from below and this serves to create a punctuated rhythm as well as the general lighting to the deck surface. It was again important that neither the daytime or dusk modes of the bridge overpowered the islands they served.