Three strands of movement define the Metro West Bridge, the linearity of the Metro West rail track, the curves in the pedestrian path, the third strand emerges from its siting in the river valley, the movement of the River Liffey below.

The shaping and forming of the bridge as it passes over the Liffey valley is designed to make the bridge as transparent to the environment as possible in varying aspects. The new Metro West Bridge is seen as a thin horizon as it passes over this triangular shaped river valley.

It is often the case underneath the bridge that there is no grass, the reason for this being, the width of the bridge above prevents both light and rain penetrating. This proposal, which is a series of strands with a void down the middle expanding as it moves over the Liffey, allows light and rain to penetrate the very centre of the bridge. Simultaneously, the inclined v-shape of the keel maximizes the light penetration to the space below while providing an open and bright space from below.