I may as well be upfront and say that what follows is fundamentally a rant. I just needed to type it down and let it all out.

First and foremost is the issue that I’ve come to realise that I’ve overcooked myself and burnt out, again, leaving me in the unhelpful state of abject terror about how this project/year will turn out. This is most definitely affecting both the quality and quantity of the work I’m producing, as to be really blunt, at this stage I’m far happier with what I produced last year than what I’m producing this year. From a practical point of view I’m really frankly struggling to square the proverbial circle when it comes to discerning bridge placement. Do I go for practicality? After all, the premise of my argument rests on reducing commuting times, encouraging an increase in bicycle usage and providing, safe, direct access for cyclists crossing the Thames along the stretch between Greenwich & Dartford. The anchors for this exercise would be Dartford, Erith, Rainham & Dagenham East stations as proposed during the crit a few weeks ago, the reasons for these being proximity to major industrial estates - and thus major employment centres, as well as allowing alternative routes into Essex whilst linking up two designated national cycle routes. From a practicality angle, the biggest concerns come from linking up Rainham w/ Dagenham East via the cycle bridge as either I accept that this is more about connecting Dartford with Dagenham East rather than Rainham (as Google Maps suggests a 15min travel time between Rainham station and Dagenham East station using existing road infrastructure, although 1 route is unsuitable due to a poor junction). I’m happy to accept this, however that still leads to the concerns about how to cross a residential estate without being either an eyesore or causing significant overlooking issues. Trains into central London from Dartford take between 40-55mins dependant on which station you wish to use, and at best 65mins to Dagenham East using existing public transport options. However, this travel time metric for that distance isn’t the priority, as the greater priority is ensuring better cycling access to the Erith, Rainham and Dagenham industrial estates along the riverbanks, so it is less an instance of Dagenham to Dartford, more allowing the option of Dagenham to Erith.

In conjunction with these concerns, is the aforementioned connections with 3 national cycle routes, two of which currently run along the riverbanks. Due to the nature of cycling, the gradient of the bridge would have to be at least equal the QEII (which as a 1/20 incline) but preferably gentler, which leads to the next issue that the QEII starts its rise 1km from the riverbank, and hits the peak approximately 500m after (very rough judgement from google maps). This is all due to the aim of the bridge deck to be at least the same height as the QEII - as any gains made by providing a directly cycling connection across the Thames would be immediately broken should the bridge be having to be raised at random points during the day, interfering with any commute or leisurely cycle. This requirement thus restricts where the bridge, and any connection points to Erith, Rainham, or the riverbank cycle routes can be placed. This is still to an extent malleable dependent on the existing topography within a 1km region of the riverbank on either side. Then there is the issue of improving the other element of cycling infrastructure - that is access to workshops for maintenance and repair, along with providing and increase in manufacturing capacity if I wish for this to be the first phase of a complete infrastructural re-engineering of how we as a society operate. Current manufacturing of the frame is via welding aluminium or steel, or in very high-end models, carbon fibre moulding. That is where my knowledge stops right now - and thus another avenue to investigate should I want to propose manufacturing elements to the inhabitation section. In my head I have some kind of automated manufacturing process going on attached to the bridge which fed materials by barges and boats coming along the river. But unless I’m proposing a radically different manufacturing approach (originally I was wondering whether anyone had tried to ‘print’ a bike yet), existing bicycle shops don’t seem to be out of stock, so is there a manufacturing supply issue that isn’t caused by either Covid or Brexit? In the latter case, is it even economical to manufacture bicycles in the country now? I haven’t even touched on the additional desire to integrate a logistical system to augment existing transpo networks in the area. Even now I’m just getting depressed thinking about it all.

This leads me to another quandary - practicality vs fuckit mentality? When this all kicked off I wanted to indulge, brief and site allowing, a modicum of sci-fi/cyberpunk amusement. That has since all evaporated as from a programmatic point of view I do not feel that I can justify it; because quite frankly after looking at everything I have so far, from a pragmatic view, it’d just feel childish. Does that mean I throw that whole thing away? Probably not. Adam (one of the tutors) has already suggested trying to bring back a modicum of the sci-fi sensibility to the project, and I’m thinking of tackling that from a design perspective as opposed to a programmatic perspective; and I think I’ll do it from what I consider to be a “high sci-fi” (if there is such a term) route. By this I mean as pure a geometrical approach as possible, examples from films including Dune (2021), Arrival, Blade Runner 2049; and from architecture - Calatrava, Foster, Piano are first in my mind. And obsession with pure arcs right now has led me to find this proposed project beneath the new Polcevera bridge by Renzo Piano: https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/parco-del-ponte-in-genoa/ , and part of me wonders whether it is at all possible to incorporate such an approach to such a vast site as my own stretch, ala Superstudio of old. Or is that unnecessary, awkward, and just plain old-fashioned at this point?

I’ve already settled with trying to produce a project that I won’t find embarrassing come interviews next year, rather than trying to reach for the proverbial moon. But what is worse, a part of me is terrified that another part has just gone to burying its head in the sand because it wants everything to explode in our face. I thought I had matured out of such an attitude, but perhaps I have just overcooked it right now. To whoever reads this, I hope you can forgive this self-indulgent rant. Evidently I had some things to get off my chest!