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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Helix Bridge

bridge in Singapore

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ2681107
Source-derived summary

The Helix Bridge, officially The Helix, and previously known as the Double Helix Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge linking Marina Centre with Marina South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore. It was officially opened on 24 April 2010; however, only half was opened due to ongoing construction at the Marina Bay Sands. The bridge was fully opened on 18 July.

Architecture

The design consortium is an international team comprising Australian architects the Cox Architecture and engineers Arup, and Singapore based Architects 61.

Canopies (made of fritted-glass and perforated steel mesh) are incorporated along parts of the inner spiral to provide shade for pedestrians. The bridge has four viewing platforms sited at strategic locations which provide views of the Singapore skyline and events taking place within Marina Bay. At night, the bridge will be illuminated by a series of lights that highlight the double-helix structure, thereby creating a special visual experience for the visitors.

Pairs of coloured letters c and g, as well as a and t on the bridge which are lit up at night in red and green represent cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine, the four bases of DNA. The intentional left handed DNA-like design, which is the opposite of normal DNA on earth, earned it a place in The Left Handed DNA Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Land Transport Authority claimed it is a world first in architectural and engineering bridge design. It won the 'World's Best Transport Building' award at the World Architecture Festival Awards in the same year.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Helix Bridge” as bridge in Singapore. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2010—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2010-04-24. The account is most persuasive where Helix, Bridge and bridge can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as bridge in Singapore. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2681107. VIAF identifies the subject as 3745169442784925340000. Authority coordinates are 1.288, 103.861. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Helix Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Helix Bridge primary sources, Helix Bridge archive and Helix research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Helix Bridge”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Helix Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.