Wilkinson Eyre Architects and the Gateshead Council conceived the Gateshead Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne as a catalyst to regenerate the city of Gateshead. While Newcastle just on the other side is well known and synonymous with the river and its bridges, Gateshead has been largely anonymous to the wider world. The objective, therefore, was to deliver a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that could alter negative or neutral perceptions and provide a positive identity for the Gateshead independent of its opposing-shore neighbor.

The client's case needed to be supported by a strong, iconic, architectural vision. And because the project was competing for limited national public funding, the design had to operate as a campaign tool to its own future by attracting local support and inward investment.

While a bridge design has traditionally been considered the province of the engineer, the client made positive steps to procure a "legible architectural solution" to an engineering problem. Successful results included a mention as one of the innovations of the year in Time magazine's annual review. Its method of turning on pivots to open for shipping—like a giant eye blinking—is a first. The structure's beauty is enhanced by an energy-efficient, computerized lighting system that allows it to glow and reflect in the Tyne in a rainbow of colors.

The completion of the bridge on time and on budget is a quantifiable measure of success, but the project goals are also evident in local pride and continued international interest. The ultimate measure of success, however, is that thousands of people currently cross the bridge each week, despite a lack of any tangible destination at the other side, while the regeneration construction program continues.

This is "an absolutely extraordinary kinetic bridge," the jury said. "It celebrates the future in the sense that it makes a connection between places, and that's going to be how people relate from now on. It is sheer stunning innovation."

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.