Knight's New Zealand 'fish hook' bridge opens - literally

Knight Architects' £14 million Lower Hatea River Crossing in Whangarei, New Zealand, with its distinctive 25-metre lifting centre section, has been officially opened

The rolling bascule bridge, apparently inspired by Maori fish hooks, gave its first performance last Friday (26 July).

The 265-metre-long link over a tidal river estuary is part of a package of improvements aimed at tackling congestion in the main city of the country's Northland region.

Martin Knight of the High Wycombe-based practice said the design for the bridge 'combined the functional and efficient form of a rolling bascule with a distinctive architectural shape.'

He added: 'Function and form, engineering and architecture, are perfectly...