A63, Princes Quay, Kingston upon Hull
lighting design collaboration
The A63 Princes Quay Footbridge, officially named the Dr Mary Murdoch Bridge, is a striking 60-metre-long arched structure designed for Highways England. The bridge connects the city centre of Kingston upon Hull across one of the busiest roads in the region, providing a safe and visually impressive pedestrian route. Its dramatic curved canopy offers both shelter and a unique architectural statement.
The bridge takes its name from Dr Mary Murdoch, Hull’s first female GP, following an essay competition held by students at Newland School for Girls.
The completed lighting system delivers a stunning visual experience, enhancing both the aesthetic appeal and functionality of the bridge. The combination of elegant architectural design and sophisticated lighting control makes the Dr Mary Murdoch Bridge a landmark feature within Kingston upon Hull’s cityscape — a testament to innovative engineering and creative collaboration.
This project presented a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with Lighting Integration to deliver both task and decorative lighting to this award-winning structure.
From the initial artist impressions, LTP proposed a RGBW lighting solution for the canopy to provide dynamic and colourful illumination, complemented by stainless-steel luminaires integrated into the balustrades along the ramps and stairs.
ingenious design
A key design challenge was to conceal the linear RGBW fixtures within the bridge’s elegant structure. The team achieved this by mounting the luminaire system along the spine of the bridge and developing a bespoke bracket system to maintain precise lighting angles while keeping the fittings discreet.
getting power distribution right in advance
Another major challenge involved routing the electrical cabling from either side of the bridge to the spine section within the roof. This was solved by running cables through the main structural steel, with local junction boxes connecting to DMX-controlled decoders, ensuring reliability and ease of maintenance.
Such detail is rarely possible to get right unless we are involved early without ruining the structural integrity of the construction.
functional lighting
Functional lighting was provided by Lug Light Factory stainless-steel mains-powered fittings, carefully mounted into the steel balustrades. These fixtures ensured consistent and efficient illumination for pedestrians.
