KEY POINTS:
An eel trap, a fantail and a gull with outstretched wings are among the design ideas for the next stage of a competition to build the new $35 million Te Wero bridge across the Viaduct Harbour.
Seven designs chosen from 155 ideas entered in the first stage of the competition last September go on show at the Britomart transport centre today.
A judging panel will pick the top three designs on April 2 before announcing the winner by the end of the month. Te Wero bridge will link the Viaduct Harbour with the Tank Farm development at a planned entertainment strip on Jellicoe St.
The council is seeking a striking design for a bridge that must open to retain boat access to the Viaduct Harbour. It will also have a strong pedestrian focus and be capable of being used for public transport.
The judging panel of experts in the fields of architecture, construction and property development have selected four winning entries and commended three other designs on the basis of striking ideas.
The four winners are Richard Naish and Rewi Thompson, of Auckland, Takeshi Hashimoto of Japan and Wellington's Roy Fleetwood.
Richard Naish's design offers an image of a gull with outstretched wings when the bridge is raised.
Takeshi Hashimoto has treated the two lifting sections as four slender fingers. Roy Fleetwood includes a series of curbing ribs and Rewi Thompson's design is based on an eel trap using a woven lattice of structural ribbons on an ovoid frame.
Aucklanders John Haydn, Stephane Gascoin and Michael and Christine Drinnan were commended for ideas that include capturing the spreading curvature of a bird tail when the bridge opens and closes. The designs are on show until Tuesday.
