Winner of the Building to Building Pedestrian Bridge Challenge / sanzpont [arquitectura]

Written by Kelly Minner
Published on July 15, 2011

We are pleased to announce that the Dynamic ShapeShifting Helix Bridge by sanzpont , Sergio Sanz Pont and Victor Sanz Pont, has won the latest DesignByMany challenge: “Building to Building Pedestrian Bridge”, sponsored by HP and media partner ArchDaily. The challenge asked professionals and students in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) community to submit a proposal to design a pedestrian bridge between to two existing buildings.

The DSSH Bridge was chosen by a select group of judges, including: Andrea Graziano from DigitAG&, Ezra Groskin from Wilkinson Eyre Architects, and Robert Mencarini from SOM.

For winning the HP-supported challenge, Sergio Sanz Pont and Victor Sanz Pont will take home a brand-new HP Designjet T790 24″ PostScript ePrinter. This solution is one of the latest additions to the HP web-connected ePrinter portfolio, making large-format printing easy and offering instant file access to design professionals. With the HP Designjet T790 ePrinter, users can simply plug and print directly from a USB thumb drive or connect a laptop directly to the device to print with driverless printing. Users can also print directly from the web without a computer and preview projects through the large-format industry’s only color touchscreen interface.

A video of DSSH Bridge, as well as the runner up projects following the break.

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Located in Montreal, Canada the Dynamic ShapeShifting Helix Bridge is a flexible tensile structure. By applying more tension to different points, a technological dynamic deformation can be achieved in response to the people crossing the bridge. It becomes a living element that responds to its use.

Sustainable design practices can be found within the tensile skin of DSSH. Foldable photovoltaic solar panels are incorporated to capture energy from the sun to generate and supply electricity from a clean and sustainable energy. This makes the bridge self-sustainable. To go beyond green, the design includes plants that clean and purify the air, transforming the pollution of the city in pure oxygen. Plants and the breathable membrane make a greener environment and a clean pedestrian tunnel.

LED RGB technology is used to highlight the structure of the bridge at night, creating art with light of low power consumption. This emphasizes the fluid and organic forms and creates different sensations.

Community Winner: Not Just a Bridge (Rehabilitation El-Tahrir Sq.) / Kareem Aldali

2nd Runner Up: Splash / Joel Cullum