The Finnish capital Helsinki is undergoing the busiest phase of development in the city’s history. Whole new districts are emerging in sites vacated from harbours and other industrial uses. As a key part of the development, the City of Helsinki envisions landmark bridges – Kruunusillat (“crown bridges”) – for trams, cyclists and pedestrians. These bridges will connect a new maritime residential district with the inner city. The City invites the best architectural and engineering experts from all around the world for the task.
The bridge development complies with Helsinki’s strategic goal to promote sustainable modes of transport. The city’s strategic emphases are on rail transport and improved public transport service. The maritime site of the new bridges is classified as one of Finland’s 27 heritage sites. With the international bridge design competition, Helsinki looks for a design that co-exists in harmony with the landscape and respects the history and cultural significance of the site. The bridges should be part of Helsinki’s heritage to future generations.
The vicinity of the bridges includes many nationally valuable cultural landmarks, most importantly the Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) sea fortress from the 1750’s, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The City of Helsinki invites teams with a broad range of competence to participate in the bridge design competition. The teams should possess expertise in bridge design and engineering, aesthetically high-quality structural design and architecture, landscape architecture, geotechnics, street and traffic planning, bridge cost estimation, environmental impact assessment, and life cycle cost analysis. Applications to participate in the competition are accepted from May 27th to August 3rd, 2011. More information on the competition’s official website.
