Architects: Erik Giudice Architects Location: Stockholm, Sweden Art: Charlotte von Poehl Landscape: Urbalab Biodiversity: Naturföretaget Project area: 415,000 sqm Images: Erik Giudice Architects
The project’s center is a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that connects the neighborhoods and countryside on the road’s four sides, a work of art and a sculptural landmark: a new symbol for Stockholm.
The artwork interacts with the magnificent landscape and creates a connection in time and space between nature, city and infrastructure. The bridge becomes a passageway and a meeting place where the spectacular and the everyday are tied together.
The bridge’s shimmering materiality varies depending on the viewer’s position, movement and speed. The bridge can be viewed from several different perspectives: towards Järvafields undulating topography it appears as a land art piece, from the roads it is perceived as a dynamic sculpture, for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the bridge it creates a kinetic experience, and at night it becomes a light installation.
The metal mesh that forms the bridge’s skin, appears depending on the geometry in some cases almost translucent, and in certain angles as massive. The fabric catches the light and colors from the environment, various light conditions during the day and year gives the bridge a wide range of colors and shades, from bright yellow one early spring morning to orange at sunset in September and saffron yellow against the winter snow. When night falls, the integrated lighting provides a warm golden light.
The sandblasted metallic fabric gives a shimmery surface, but no reflections that could cause to road safety problems. On the bridges sides the metal mesh forms a screen that provides protection against wind and weather for pedestrians and cyclists. The railing height increases progressively from 1.5 m on ground to 3 m at the bridges highest point.