This model was constructed at the Bartlett School of Architecture, London, at the request of photographer Dan Holdsworth and accompanies a photograph of the footbridge. Holdsworth writes: ‘The motorway footbridge at Malpas on the M4 between London and Bristol stands out for the elegant sweeps of its access walkways that spiral down at either end. As you zoom under it by car the structure animates itself and unfurls around you, seeming to give the illusion that it is catapulting you forward at even greater speed. For the pedestrian the bridge offers continuity along an old Roman bridleway that bisects the M4 at this point.’

The footbridge at Malpas (from the Latin, meaning ‘bad way’) is unique. When the M4 motorway was built the motorway contractors wanted to use the gravel that lay under this land, belonging to a local farmer. The government had a compulsory purchase order for the land but had no right over resources below ground. As the farmer’s wife was uninspired by the original, rather boring footbridge design, the farmer proposed that the company could use the resources below his land if they built a beautiful footbridge for his wife. They accepted and the resulting footbridge is the one seen today, which unites both the farmer’s land and an ancient Roman right of way.