1st prize – Courtesy of Nicolas Montesano, Victor Vila, Boris Hoppek
[AC-CA] recently announced the winning proposals for their Amsterdam Iconic Pedestrian Bridge competition. The aim the international competition was to design an iconic pedestrian bridge in the heart of Amsterdam. The architecture of this new structure would reflect contemporary design tendencies. The winning proposals not only attend to the specific function, but also take into consideration the urban insertion and impact geared towards creating a new architectural symbol for an European capital city. Images and concepts of the winners after the break.
1st Prize: Nicolas Montesano, Victor Vila, Boris Hoppek
The project proposes a central enclosed space, a water plaza. A space that is defined by its shape, where boats cross through and pedestrians and cyclists stroll along its perimeter. The act of framing a part of the river, brings a new value to it. The bridge has a simple, round shape and is formed by the most classic of structural types: the steel lattice shell. This intensifies the purity of the original idea and justifies the rationality of the chosen solution.
Experience: Crossing can be performed both above and below the water level. This duality of paths brings in a new way to cross the river. The accompanying program is incorporated inside the encircling cylinder, oriented inwards, and opening towards the new urban space. Accessibility is granted both for bicycles and the disabled, with a gentler slope along the above-water span of the bridge. Boat transit underneath complies with height and depth regulations.
Given the simplicity of its construction system, the bridge can be built from discarded or recovered shipyard steel from the local naval industry. Wood, which has a low environmental impact while providing the necessary resistance for such a humid location, is used in the interiors.
2nd Prize: 2:pm architectures
The objective of a pedestrian bridge is to link banks and make human crossing easier. It is not there to be seen, it generates social habits. The design is less important than the function. The same elements that made the crossing complicated (the water)will help to resolve the main goal : the support of the bridge (Archimede). The illusion and the mythology take part of the project: who ever dreamed of being Jesus, walking on the sea? That’s not the design that will be unforgettable, but the memory of crossing it.
To use the elements that are provided by the site place : water that makes the crossing complicated will finally help this crossing. Physics are invoked with the help of Archimede. Pieces of bridge are brought to the project site using boats. The bridge is divided into pieces. One of them will be filled up to shrink and let the boats pass through. Once the boats have left, the shrunk piece will be filled up with air to make it float again and make human crossing possible. The design of the floating bridge is easy thanks to the stable level of water in the canals.
Crossing the floating bridge is a unique experience, so close to the water level. A swell breaker along the bridge helps creating a calm water surface beside the bridge will the water is less calm further. The pedestrian bridge floats thanks to the air stocked in it siron tanks and the support of the water:human crossing The middle part of the bridge is filled up with water: boats crossing.
3rd Prize: Velorose + Heyne Tillett Steel
An icon in terms of what it represents as much as what it is, this is a beautiful, efficient and living bridge; it changes over time, rather than being a static symbol. Its simplicity is its beauty, its program full of promise, its users its life. Designed to have minimal impact on its immediate surroundings, but to reappear at times throughout the city, it fits seamlessly in to the fabric of Amsterdam while being outstanding; recognizable, but unlike any other bridge, it is extra-ordinary. Sustainability is its essence, composed of standard barges, containers, components and materials that are readily available and can be recycled from other uses. Its adaptability, however, allows it to accommodate cutting-edge technology.
The slow-living bridge lives on the Amstel and its canals. Between east and west bank it is most flexible at its center, and north-south it is most fixed along the central axis of the museum; the bridge changes by day and by season. Priority remains for passing craft; the resident engineers open and close the bridge, while pedestrians, runners and cyclists stop for a break or take another route. The slow-bridge app enables residents and visitors to check the status of the bridge, its various brightly-painted mobile elements (cafe and picnic barges, or the shuttle between the main train station, Hermitage and other institutions), or their bike repair.
Honorable Mentions:
- Christian Vachon & Marjorie Bradley‐Vidal - Reinaldo Nishimura, Luiz Nogueira, Ari Miaciro, Evangelina Galvão - Maarten den Teuling & Lisa Tang - Alex Letteboer, Menno Roefs, Gijs Libourel - Nicholas Majczan & Michael Roden - Yeonmoon Kim & Younggyu Lim - KeurK RIAUTé
