Creating the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, New Zealand

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge opened on the 5th of June 2010. In just over a year this unique bridge at the edge of the world in Taranaki, New Zealand, has won two international awards and has become a potent symbol for the community in which it is located. This paper dissects the thought processes of the bridge designer as an example to demonstrate how structural bridge elements can be contextualised to a bridge setting. This is in order for the bridge to be seen as a symbol with deep meaning to its local community, more than a purely functional bridge.