Phoebe Hood has designed a sustainable, biophilic, footbridge enhancing communication and connectivity between a major transport hub and a green space.

Although Sheffield’s Midland Train Station is close to one of the few green spaces within the city centre, The Amphitheatre, it is perceived as being disconnected. Her concept modifies the existing footbridge to create a route that is more than a functional crossing of railway tracks. Instead, it encourages a distinctive experience and creates a truly unique atmosphere, connecting users of the transportation hub to nature and enhancing the existing local green landscape. Sustainability was a major priority within the concept, aiming to ensure the materials used and the design process would not contribute to the damage we have inflicted on the planet over the years.

The bridge offers both a pedestrian path and a popular route for cyclists to also enjoy the experience, but is designed to be used equally by local wildlife as it is by pedestrians. Hood proposes a space that is inhabited by a number of plant life and vegetation, a place for both humans and wildlife to exist in harmony in an urban environment. Additionally the plan helps address the cause of urban pollution in Sheffield and assist healing the damage with the use of air-purifying plants. Hood’s utopian proposal showcases the values and priorities every city should hold, weaving the natural world throughout and helping to reverse the damage our urban spaces have created.