The British engineering firm Arup has been responsible for many of today's most interesting bridges. Arup was founded by Ove Arup (1895-1988), a Danish engineer who immigrated to Britain, and who collaborated with many notable architects on buildings such as Coventry Cathedral and the Sydney Opera House. Arup also designed a footbridge himself, and it's a beaut. The problem was to span the River Wear, linking two parts of the University of Durham. The budget of £35,000 (in 1961) was barely sufficient to build a short, 120-foot bridge at the bottom of the valley. Undaunted, Arup proposed a bridge whose deck was at the level of the top of the valley, even though this meant a span three times greater. To avoid building expensive formwork across the valley, the two halves of the concrete structure, supported by four slender fingers, were cast in place on the two banks, then swiveled 90 degrees to connect in the middle. Ingenious, inexpensive, and handsome—everything a good bridge should be.