At the Center for Architecture, we love exploring bridges with our students! Bridges are amazing structures that showcase thoughtful engineering and creative thinking. This booklet will introduce you to four types of bridges: beam, truss, arch, and suspension. Each page is illustrated with diagrams and body exercises to help you understand the structural forces at work in each bridge. The pushing force of compression is shown in orange, and the pulling force of tension in green. Once you’ve learned these bridge basics, try designing your own!