Golden bridges

The Illuminated River competition is a pioneering design challenge set to transform London’s historic bridges. Headed up by Hannah Rothschild, The Illuminated River Trust has been busy compiling a star-studded shortlist of six ambitious proposals that will decorate the 17 bridges with new lighting designs.

Architect David Adjaye took a collaborative approach for his entry – ’Blurring Boundaries’ – enlisting the help of 17 artists, including Philippe Parreno, Richard Wood, Doug Aitken, Jeremy Deller and Tomás Saraceno. They were each invited to develop a lighting concept for a different bridge, with predictably striking results.

The six shortlisted proposals are on display until 29 November at the Southbank Centre – the ideal venue to showcase the designs, given its promixity to the edge of the Thames. The winning project will be announced on 8 December.