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!
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.
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.
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.