Aesthetic considerations:

5.7.8.1 When a bridge is built, a visible object is created in the environment. People see it,
and they respond to what they see. Bridges have an impact on its users and surroundings -
site/environment, historical values and adjacent development. They create an impression.
Often, bridges become the symbols of their communities. The bridge designers must make that
impression the best that it can be.

5.7.8.2 In most cases, achieving the desired aesthetic quality may be attained at no extra cost
or may add little to the overall cost of the structure. But this little addition is worthy, keeping
in mind that the bridge will serve the society for almost a century or more. If cost-effectiveness
can be applied to aesthetics as well as safety, durability, and maintainability, then aesthetics
can be evaluated as a criterion with all the others. It can be applied within the same constraints
of budget, function, availability of technology, materials, and time for design as all the others.
It is not more important than these others, nor is it less important. It is often the case that the
cheapest bridge is not always the most cost effective solution. Durability and quality are
related. Lower costs and lower quality can lead to higher maintenance and replacement. This
interrelationship between cost and aesthetics is especially important when the whole life cost
of a bridge is considered. For example, materials can be used wisely with consequent economy
and sustainability, fitness for purpose, refinement and elegance.

5.7.8.3 Basically, aesthetic design includes the consideration of the visual relationship of a
bridge and its site, as well as the mass, shape, and form of the structure. Visual design elements
like (a) line (such as profiles of railings, spans, piers, abutments, and wingwalls etc.), (b) shape
(horizontal and vertical dimensions of structural components), (c) form, (d) color, and (e)
texture define visual perception. They can be used to articulate visual concepts. Aesthetic
qualities like

(a) proportion – appropriate proportion needs to exist between the various parts of a
structure: between its height, width, and depth; between solids and voids; between
surfaces and openings; and between areas of sunlight and shadow),

(b) expression of forces and technology,

(c) Context sensitive design – the design that fits in sensitively with the landform and
the built, natural, ecological, cultural and community context,

(d) rhythm – regular recurrence of any like elements in, on, or around a structure,

(e) order – arrangement of structural elements,

(f) harmony – relationship of the elements of a design based on similarity of their visual
characteristics,

(g) balance – perceived equilibrium of design elements around an axis or focal point,

(h) contrast,
(i) scale – size relationship among various features of the structure and between the
total structure and its surroundings,

(j) simplicity,

(k) good detailing,

(l) unity of design – encompasses the perfect application of all the other qualities), and

(m) consistency of the form along the corridor

result from employment of visual design elements and are used to describe a visual
composition. Aesthetic quality is often associated with bridges that efficiently respond
to the flow of forces in the structure, and an efficient structure is usually an economical
one after adopting thick elements for high stressed zones and thin elements for low
stressed zones. It follows that it is not always necessary to spend more money to achieve
an attractive bridge.