A new website documenting the construction of what's being described as "Scotland’s newest icon" has gone live, with new and exclusive behind the scenes footage, interviews, state of the art 3D animation and pictures to tell the story of building the new bridge.
The Queensferry Crossing Arc – a stunning digital archive - has gone live today at:www.queensferrycrossingarc.co.uk and uses the following features to allow users to explore the new bridge and tell the story of its construction:
- 3D animations – based on incredibly detailed 3D scans of the bridge during construction
- Over an hour of video footage shot since the beginning of construction in 2011
- Exclusive staff interviews, explaining each stage of the construction process
- Pictures of every aspect of the building work over the past six years
- The opportunity for the public to submit their pictures to form part of the archive.
- The site also becomes the new home for the Frame the Bridge digital mosaic comprised of selfies being submitted by the public since 2015
Scotland's Economy Secretary Keith Brown said, “Excitement and interest in the Queensferry Crossing just keeps building as the project nears completion.
“The new bridge is already fast becoming Scotland’s newest icon and it is fitting that we now have such a fantastic digital archive available to explain how it was built.
“Like many others I have been fascinated to watch footage of the past construction of the Forth Road Bridge over fifty years ago and to see pictures of the building of the Forth Bridge over 125 years ago.
“This website has used some of the latest methods to capture how the Queensferry Crossing has been built and will provide an important record and learning tool for future generations. It’s like an interactive film and picture album rolled into one.
“Not only does the website use incredible 3D animations, based on state of the art 3D scanning undertaken of all three Forth bridges, it also has over an hour of video footage and staff interviews explaining construction.
“In addition, the site offers the chance for the public to join in by submitting their pictures of the bridge to form part of this important archive. A quick search of social media can’t fail to reveal the legions of amateur and semi-professional photographers out there who have been inspired by the Queensferry Crossing. We’ve created an online home for these pictures taken right through construction and into the future as the bridge begins to be used.
“We’ve always said that building a bridge wasn’t the limit to this project, we also need to ensure a learning legacy is forged from the inspirational, iconic Queensferry Crossing. That is the ambition of the Arc.”
The scans are the first product of the Transport Scotland funded project to laser scan the Forth bridges. The cutting-edge work was carried out by the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation (CDDV), a partnership between the Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation and Historic Environment Scotland.
Alastair Rawlinson, Head of Data Acquisition at The Glasgow School of Art and CDDV, said, “We were presented with a unique opportunity to digitally document the bridge in 3D as it was being constructed. This allowed the team, working in conjunction with engineering experts, to create an incredibly accurate 3D model and animation showing all construction phases. We hope people will enjoy learning about the bridge through visiting the website and watching the animations.”
