Sketch diary - Girl bridging the gap

Fernsehturm, Munich

By girlbridgingthegap | 16 July, 2020

Munich’s 291m Fernsehturm, or TV Tower, is an iconic part of its skyline. Being lucky enough to visit, I sketched its shape to show its structure and how each section is used.

A year ago, I also visited Berlin, the largest city in Germany and also home to an iconic TV Tower. Well I was interested in comparing these two structures, which have similar functions yet differing shapes and histories.

The Berlin tower is the tallest structure in Germany, at 318m (compared to the 291m of Munich’s tower). Much of each tower’s total height is made from its top aerial, coloured red and white. Berlin’s is tapered; Munich’s is a straight cylinder. Also, a lightly tapered concrete base contains the lifts in each tower.

Both contain two public floors: one for views and the other a revolving restaurant. Munich’s restaurant is at 182m and viewing floor at 190m; Berlin’s restaurant is at 207m and viewing floor at 203m, towards the bottom of the iconic 32m diameter sphere. Its triangular embossed facade also adds to the impact of the panoramic views of the city.

The Munich tower was completed in 1968, the Berlin tower in 1969. Incredibly, at the time, they were in different countries, the BRD (West Germany) and the GDR (East Germany).

BMW Welt, Munich

By girlbridgingthegap | 13 July, 2020

BMW Welt, or BMW World, is a centre and museum in Munich showcases the history and future of the automobile industry. The building is modern and futuristic. To access it, you walk over a bridge over the main road, leading you straight through the entrance to the first floor.

It was from the bridge I sketched; facing the geometric hourglass shape that is the centrepiece of the building’s design.

My close up photo of the steel truss frame my sketch also conveys. It’s clear the truss is useful to increase the twisted structure’s rigidity.

Bridge in Rouen, France

By girlbridgingthegap | 25 April, 2020

A road trip to Rouen, northern France a while ago led me to this engineering marvel over the Seine: Pont Gustave-Flaubert. It’s actually an opening bridge, which I didn’t even realise whilst I was there. I sketched it here from a photograph I took myself.

It’s a cable-stayed bridge, meaning its weight is carried to the support via cables that connect it to the concrete towers. In fact, the cables wrap around pulleys, which allow for some movement of the structure, but thereby reducing the chance of fracture.

The cables transfer the weight on the bridge on to the reinforced concrete towers and thereby into the ground, producing a structurally stable and reliable yet lightweight bridge.

From inspection I imagine the platforms to be semi-rigid – anchored to the ground but with a pontoon-type floating top element, although this assumption is not confirmed.

Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol

By girlbridgingthegap | 25 February, 2020

Another university open day brought me to Bristol. I found a nice spot a little out of town to get my sketchbook out and admire this feat of Victorian engineering.

The suspension bridge spans over the river Avon and contains two distinctive stone towers sitting on either side of the gorge. Steel cables connect them to each other and support the extended span of road. It was definitely a breathtaking view!

Winter Garden, Sheffield

By girlbridgingthegap | 14 February, 2020

I visited Sheffield for a university offer day. I explored the city a bit before my train home, coming across this building, the ‘Winter Garden’.

The idea of the building is to act as a temperate greenhouse, where elements of the environment such as moisture and temperature can be carefully monitored, allowing 2,000 plant species to thrive. It is the largest of its urban kind in Europe.

The shape of the building is interesting because the glass ceiling uses a suspension system. Three ‘shells’ in the shape of quadratic curves sit inside each other, and are anchored to the ground at either end. This allows for a very lightweight structure. In fact, the building uses very little concrete and is instead mainly formed of timber arches, a steel frame and glass panelling.

Sky Garden, London (20 Fenchurch St)

By girlbridgingthegap | 23 October, 2019

Otherwise known as the Walkie Talkie, this skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street features a restaurant more than 100m in the air. The elegant shape of the windows gives way to some of the best views in London.

the enormous windows, view from the restaurant area

I’ve sketched the building from a few angles to try and give the shape justice. There is a balcony just outside the curved window area.

This is the picture I took while I was at the Sky Garden. As you can see, the views over the city, the Thames and its bridges are spectacular. The building uses steel framing and strong glass panelling to achieve this.